Effects of Two-Step Anodization on Surface Wettability in Surface Treatment of Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

Industrial anodizing of aluminum alloys is widely employed for various products, to improve corrosion and contamination protection as well as aesthetic appearance. At the same time, nanostructure fabrication using highly ordered porous aluminum oxides has been increasingly investigated in academic research for diverse micro-/nano applications. This approach is based on two-step anodization with limited process conditions, such as extended process time and low temperature. In this study, two-step anodizing was employed to anodize hairline-finished Al 1050 with sulfuric acid considering industrial processing conditions. The method is particularly suited for anodized products that require post-processing such as printing, dyeing and/or bonding. Porous anodized layers that were fabricated using conventional single anodizing, and twostep anodizing under identical processing conditions were compared. Variations in porosity, pore diameter, and inter-pore distance were examined in relation to the anodizing parameters, such as temperature and voltage. The results showed that two-step anodizing caused an increase in all measured pore-related measurements, and produced a much more uniform porous layer than the conventional anodizing process. Water contact angles were evaluated on the anodized surface of the previously machined hairline specimen. It was found that the water contact angles clearly decreased on the surfaces treated by two-step anodization, compared to the conventional anodizing process.