Structural investigation of the zirconium-titanium based amino trimethylene phosphonate hybrid coating on aluminum alloy

A zirconium-titanium based amino trimethylene phosphonate hybrid coating on AA6061 aluminum alloys was formed by dipping in a fluorotitanate/zirconate acid and amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP) solution for improving the lacquer adhesion and corrosion resistance as a substitute of chromate coatings. The morphology and structure of the hybrid coating were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface composition and structure characteristics were also investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transformation infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of SEM and AFM show that the hybrid coating present piece particle distribution which is much denser than that of the zirconium-titanium coating. The results of XPS and FTIR indicate that the hybrid coating is a hybrid composite structure composed of both the zirconium-titanium and amino trimethylene phosphonate coatings.