Electrophoretic deposition of hybrid coatings on aluminum alloy by combining 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilan to silicon-zirconium sol solutions for corrosion protection

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) silicon-zirconium organic-inorganic hybrid coatings were applied on LC4 aluminum alloy for corrosion protection. 3-Glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (GTMS) and Zirconium (IV) n-propoxide (TPOZ) were used as precursors. 3-Aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APS) was added to enhance the corrosion protective performance of the coatings. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to characterize morphology, microstructure and component. The results show that the addition of APS leads to the enhanced migration and deposition of positively charged colloidal particles on the surface of metal substrate, which results in the thickness increasing of coatings. However, loading an excessive amount of APS gives a heterogeneous coating surface. The corrosion protective performance of coatings were measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization. The results indicate that the addition of APS improves corrosion protective performance of coatings. The optimal addition content of APS is about 15%. The 15% APS coating is uniform and dense, as well as has good corrosion protective performance. The impedance value (1.58 × 10⁵ Ω·cm², at the lowest frequency) of 15% APS coating is half order of magnitude higher than that of coating without APS, and 15% APS coating always keeps the best corrosion protective performance with prolonged immersion time. This kind of coating is identified with "double-structure" properties based on the analysis of EIS and potentiodynamic polarization. Furthermore, the equivalent circuit results indicate that the intermediate oxide layer plays a main role in corrosion protection.