Preparation of Ti–Zr-Based Conversion Coating on 5052 Aluminum Alloy, and Its Corrosion Resistance and Antifouling Performance

A chemical conversion coating on 5052 aluminum alloy was prepared by using K2ZrF6 and K2TiF6 as the main salts, KMnO4 as the oxidant and NaF as the accelerant. The surface morphology, structure and composition were analyzed by SEM, EDS, FT–IR and XPS. The corrosion resistance of the conversion coating was studied by salt water immersion and polarization curve analysis. The influence of fluorosilane (FAS-17) surface modification on its antifouling property was also discussed. The results showed that the prepared conversion coating mainly consisted of AlF3·3H2O, Al2O3, MnO2 and TiO2, and exhibited good corrosion resistance. Its corrosion potential in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution was positively shifted about 590 mV and the corrosion current density was dropped from 1.10 to 0.48 μA cm−2. By sealing treatment in NiF2 solution, its corrosion resistance was further improved yielding a corrosion current density drop of 0.04 μA cm−2. By fluorosilane (FAS-17) surface modification, the conversion coating became hydrophobic due to low-surface-energy groups such as CF2 and CF3, and the contact angle reached 136.8°. Moreover, by FAS-17 modification, the corrosion resistance was enhanced significantly and its corrosion rate decreased by about 25 times.