Emeraldine base as corrosion protective layer on aluminium alloy AA5182, effect of the surface microstructure

AA5182 aluminium alloy cold rolled samples were coated by thin films of emeraldine base (EB) obtained from a 5% solution in N-methylpyrrolidinone. Accelerated corrosion tests prove this coating very effective for corrosion protection of aluminium alloys in neutral environment. This study underlines the prominent role of surface cathodic intermetallic particles in pit initiation and coating break down in enhanced corrosion conditions and suggest that, beside the EB barrier properties, the enhanced corrosion resistance observed on the EB coated samples could partly arise from two other mains factors:
• a weak redox activity of the polymer which passivate the metal,
• a proton involving self-healing process taking place at the polymer–metal interface, which contributes to delay local acidification in first steps of corrosion on EB coated aluminium surfaces.