Protection of 2024-T3 aluminium alloy by corrosion resistant phytic acid conversion coating

The corrosion protection properties of environmentally friendly phytic acid conversion coatings were studied on 2024-T3 aluminium alloy. The films were prepared under acidic conditions with various pH values and characterised by SEM, EDS, ATR-FTIR and electrochemical techniques. The results indicate that the conversion coatings obtained by immersing the alloy in phytic acid solutions at pH from 3 to 5.5 provide excellent corrosion resistance. ATR-FTIR confirms that the film is formed by deposition of reaction products between Al3+ and phosphate groups in phytic acid molecules. The conformation models of the deposition film are proposed.