Effect of Ammonia Addition on the Growth of an AlO(OH) Film during Steam Coating Process

Al alloys possess excellent physical and mechanical properties, such as low density, high specific strength, and good ductility. However, their low corrosion resistance limits their use in corrosive environments. The steam coating process has attracted considerable attention as a new coating technology that can improve the corrosion resistance of Al alloys. This surface treatment technology uses steam to form a corrosion-resistant film on Al alloys. However, a decrease in the processing time, which can result in a lower cost, is needed for the practical application of the steam coating process. In this study, an Al-Mg-Si alloy is used as the base material, and ammonia is added to the steam source to increase the film formation rate. By adding ammonia (0.5 mol/L) to the steam source, the rate constant, K, for film formation increases 1.82 times compared to that of the pure-water-only treatment. Field emission scanning electron micrographs of the film surface confirms that the crystal morphologies of the crystals change from rectangular to parallelepiped shape with increasing process time by ammonia addition. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction patterns show that AlO(OH) crystals are successfully synthesized without byproducts, even when ammonia is added.