Surface Modification of Aluminium Alloy by a Silver Nanoparticle-Doped Coating and Examination of Anticorrosion Protection

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are among the metals that can be easily passivated, demonstrating notable anticorrosion properties. Under aggressive environments, like in seawater, corrosion may appear though due to presence of chloride ions (pH>8.5) leading to pitting failures. The objectives of the presented research were to examine the possibility of functionalizing the surface of an aluminium alloy through a polydopamine (PDA) layer with homogeneously dispersed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and examine the corrosion behaviour of the nanostructured coating. The development of a PDA coating provides a promising approach for immobilization of silver nanoparticles onto AA6061 substrate. Exposure to salt spray for 60 h and assessment of the corrosion status through various methods were applied. Depending on the process parameters for the fabrication of the PDA-AgNPs layer, an enhanced corrosion protection was achieved compared to the undoped with AgNPs film and the uncoated Aluminium alloy.