Nanostructured sol-gel derived conversion coatings based on epoxy- and amino-silanes

Inorganic/organic hybrid conversion surface coatings for long-term protection of aluminum alloys against atmospheric corrosion have been developed based on a unique self-assembled nanophase particle (SNAP) coating process. Nano-particles with peripheral epoxy functional groups are pre-formed in an aqueous sol-gel process and then assembled and crosslinked upon application on the substrate surface. Mono-, di-, and tri-functional amino-silanes have been used as crosslinking agents. Corrosion resistance properties of these hybrid nanocomposite coatings studied by a variety of electrochemical testing methods including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning vibrating electrode technique, and potentiodynamic scan method, indicate excellent barrier protection performance of the coatings. For comparison, coatings crosslinked with amino-silanes offer significant improvement in coating performance over the previously described SNAP formulations with a conventional amine crosslinker-diethylenetriamine. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.