An electrochemical and superficial assessment of the corrosion behavior of AA 2024-T3 treated with metacryloxypropylmethoxysilane and cerium nitrate

The present work aims at studying the corrosion behavior of treatments based on the deposition of layers of metacryloxypropylmethoxysilane (MAOS) and/or cerium nitrate on aluminum alloy 2024 T-3 (AA2024-T3). The corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) during immersion in 0.1 M Na2SO4 and NaCl solutions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were also used to perform a surface analysis before and after the treatments. The electrochemical results show that cerium nitrate, when present between two layers of MAOS (sandwich-type deposited layer), improves the corrosion resistance. This can be attributed to the presence of an internal layer rich in silicium and cerium and another external MAOS layer, which further improves the barrier effect of the layer.