Corrosion protection for aerospace aluminum alloys by Modified Self-assembled NAnophase Particle (MSNAP) sol–gel

By Voevodin, N.N.; Kurdziel, J.W. & Mantz, R.
Published in Surface and Coatings Technology NULL 2006

Abstract

The Air Force Research Laboratory is developing environmentally benign alternatives to the traditional chromated aircraft coating for aircraft corrosion protection, targeted at a 30+ year performance life cycle. The Self-assembled NAnophase Particles (SNAP) process is a new method of forming functionalized silica nanoparticles in-situ from hydrolyzed tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) in an aqueous sol–gel process, and then cross-linking the nanoparticles to form a thin, fully dense, protective film on Al aerospace alloys. These nanostructured coatings have been shown to provide an excellent barrier to corrosion for aluminum aerospace alloys; and other applications are envisioned. Much work has been done on characterization and performance of these coatings. This paper discusses a modification of SNAP formulation with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). Films were formulated and developed to produce a dense barrier sol–gel coating on AA2024-T3. Corrosion protection properties of the films were evaluated with potentiodynamic scan (PDS) electrochemical technique, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Salt Spray test (5% NaCl).

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