Corrosion resistance enhancement by laser and reduced graphene oxide-based nano-silver for 1050 aluminum alloy
Introduction
The acidity of seawater can cause premature damage on the aluminum (Al) surface. This acidity is the main problem of enhancing pitting corrosion resistance, because this property depends primarily on the chloride percentage, which is generally between 15,000–21,000 ppm, temperature, and oxidizing agent. The mentioned factors could affect the H+ concentration (pH) and eventually elevate the level of the chemical reaction on the aluminum surface [1]. Anodization can enhance the chemical reaction resistance on the aluminum surface. This electrolytic method is used to increase the thickness of the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) layer and can be used for the production of a stable metal oxide layer.
Electrodeposition techniques require homogenously dispersed additives in the electrolyte. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD), as an environment-friendly coating process, has received considerable research attention [2]. Recently, several investigations have dealt with the EPD of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites [3], revealing the remarkable research interest focusing on the development of processing paths that may benefit from graphene ’s physical and optical properties; the use of EPD in various applications has been proven as a useful process in depositing graphene and its composite on conductive surfaces [4].
Pitting corrosion (local loss passivity) is the most common and important corrosion encountered in aluminum 1xxx alloys; it occurs when the passive film breaks down under an aggressive environment [5]. The proper protection of aluminum is necessary to prevent corrosion, especially in galvanic coupling, because this element is electrochemically weak compared with most conductive metals [6]. Aluminum corrosion normally occurs in the form of oxidation/reduction reactions, that is, the cathode site receives electrons from the metal at the anode site. Accordingly, metals turn into ions, which will promote electron transfer to the cathode. The ions will react with the particles in the environment and form an oxide layer or corrosion product that will adhere strongly on the aluminum surface [1]. Hydrogen ion reaction is the most common reaction in corrosion. these reactions include metal ion reduction, reduction of dissolved oxygen, and metal deposition [7].
New strategies, including laser melting and the use of graphene [8] or organic inhibitors, were adopted to improve the pitting corrosion resistance [9]. The use of graphene nanocomposite material increases the pitting corrosion resistance to laser heat treatment [5]. Graphene features a wide specific surface area; its size ranges at the nanoscale level, and it possesses flaky structure and generates a dielectric layer that can delay the penetration of corrosion [10]. graphene-based composites were studied under different environments. Such composites can behave similarly to negatively charged materials when interacting with an electrolyte solution. Consequently, pitting corrosion will be significantly reduced because of the electrostatic repulsion force that can hinder the access of anions to the metal surface [11,12]. Graphene-based nanocomposites feature a wide range of sensor applications [13], but graphene is more popularly used as a protection layer to enhance the oxidation of metal surface in gas applications [14]. Meanwhile, laser surface treatment remains an effective process of increasing corrosion resistance efficiently [11].
The monochromaticity, directionality, and cohesiveness of laser beam are suitable to deliver a range of energies (mW to kW). Focusing power in a precise spot in a short period (10−3–10−15 s) triggers a wide range of laser surface interactions, such as laser heating, laser melting, and laser evaporation. Laser beam as a source of heat can be used to efficiently modify the surface microstructure or composition of a near-surface region. However, the corrosion resistance of a material surface relies on the microstructure and composition of the substrate. Laser surface treatment can enhance the corrosion resistance of metals and alloys [15]. The corrosion current was lowered six times when surface was treated with excimer laser and the passive region cleared obtained [16].
A corrosion-resistant marine paint was developed using graphene as a filler, resulting in improved anti-corrosion performance of the coating [17]. Waterborne polyurethane coating was used as an anti-corrosion material from functionalized graphene, graphene oxide (GO). In GO anodization, cathodic deposition is used to encapsulate the carbon steel surface with the GO membrane to avoid defects [18]. reduced graphene oxide (rGO)was used to increase corrosion resistance [19]. The electrochemical effects of CO-depositing rGO particles in the electroless Ni-P bath were investigated with different concentrations of rGO, and the hardness of the coatings was analyzed [20]. Polyaniline graphene composite (PANI/rGO) has excellent conductivity and thermal stability made it one of the best choices in oxidation resistance [17]. Bio-graphene coating has been successfully prepared on aluminum alloy substrates [21]. Long-term corrosion enhancement of metal steels was observed in chloride environments (seawater) [22]. In proton exchange membrane fuel cells, a change in the rGO of bipolar plate Ni-P was discussed [23].
1050 alloy has been adapted from many researchers for studying corrosion behaviors, such as cracking [24], tribological [25], and pitting [26]. The anodic film of this alloy was mostly homogenous, low density of cracks, and much smaller width compared to others alloy [24]. Rising temperature has effect on the pore diameter. It was shown that the porosity of the anodic layer depends on the electrolyte concentration, while a reduction of the thickness layer happens when the temperature of the electrolyte solution is more than 30 °C [25]. 1050 Alloy shows lower corrosion rate when processed by using equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) [26].
In this study, a reduced graphene nanocomposite was mixed with an electrolyte to anodize 1050 aluminum alloy supported by laser heat treatment. Given the wide range of applications of this alloy in electric and chemical industries, it was used as the study material to improve its corrosion resistance in salty environment. The standard concentration of salt was expressed in seawater percentage, which is approximately 35 parts per thousand. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to utilize laser heat treatment before anodizing process supported by reduced graphene nanocomposite in electrolyte solution (Hybrid electrolyte) for aluminum 1050 alloy. This process was adapted for enhancing corrosion resistance of anodic layer in the seawater environment. Both thickness and composition was studied and evaluate for anodic layer.
Section snippets
Materials and methods
Laser heat treatment was applied on commercial aluminum alloy 1050 (purity: 99.99%) with a size of 5 × 5 mm2, followed by anodization via EPD. The electrolyte anodizing solution was mixed with reduced graphene silver nanocomposite flakes (rGO-Ag), whose shape renders it desirable for various applications (Fig. 1a). The corrosion resistances between laser-irradiated and unirradiated sample were compared. The irradiated sample, which was anodized in the presence of rGO-Ag, was compared with the
Results and discussion
In our experiment, the synthesized rGO-Ag nanocomposite was characterized using a Raman spectrometer (WITEC Alpha 300R) with an excitation wavelength of 531.906 nm. Fig. 3 shows the G peak resulting from the sp2 vibration plane of carbon atoms; it is the most distinguishing feature of most graphitic materials. Defects in the graphene lattice normally induce peak D. The intensity ratio between G and D bands (ID/IG=0.86) can be applied to quantify defects in the graphene layer. The 2 G peak and
Conclusion
A new approach using EPD has been introduced for enhancing the corrosion resistance of aluminum 1050 alloy with laser heat treatment. Cyclic voltammetry curves were used to investigate the surface variation in the chemical composition of the aluminum 1050 alloy in the seawater environment. The results prove that graphene nanocomposite and laser heat treatment increased the corrosion resistance by six times. This result is due to the decreased number of surface cracks and the G-enhanced anodized
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge the University of Technology of Iraq for the support received for the project.
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