Electrosynthesized polyaniline for the corrosion protection of aluminum alloy 2024-T3

Abstract

Adherent polyaniline films on aluminum alloy 2024-T3 have been prepared by electrodeposition from aniline containing oxalic acid solution. The most appropriate method to prepare protective films was a successive galvanostatic deposition of 500 seconds. With this type of film, the open circuit potential of the coating shifted around 0.065V vs. SCE compared to the uncoated alloy. The polyaniline coatings can be considered as candidates to protect copper-rich (3 - 5%) aluminum alloys by avoiding the galvanic couple between re-deposited copper on the surface and the bulk alloy. The performance of the polyaniline films was verified by immersion tests up to 2.5 months. It was good with formation of some aluminum oxides due to electrolyte permeation so, in order to optimize the performance a coating formulation would content an isolation topcoat.