Résumé : |
Current coatings for aircraft corrosion protection are based on chromate surface treatments, primers, and topcoats. One approach to developing a chromate-free surface treatment is through the use of sol-gel materials that interact strongly with both the substrate and the subsequent polymer layers. Results are reported here on a new sol-gel technique using a pre-formed, self-assembled, nano-phase particle (SNAP) sol-gel system. SNAP films have been investigated by infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrochemical methods. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy demonstrated that the SNAP system generates high quality, defect-free, durable films. Formulation parameters, including crosslink density and coupling agent application, were optimized based on experimental results. |