Surface characterization of new silane-based pretreatments applied on aluminium

Abstract

Silane- based pre-treatments are an alternative process for the chrome-based corrosionpreventive commercial pre-treatments, without salubrity problems and that in initial exploratory studies have yielded promising results regarding corrosion protection and adhesion promotion. In the framework of the research about the anticorrosive capacity of these compounds that it's being undertaken for different silane and substrates, some preliminary results are presented in this paper. Specifically, the results of the surface characterisation through SEM-EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) for two silanes with different functional groups (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane or γ-APS and 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane or γ-GPS), prepared at different pH and applied as primers on an aluminium substrate, are discussed.