Conversion layers by plasma-electrolytic oxidation of aluminum in acrylate and benzoate electrolytes

Within this work, aluminum is oxidized via plasma-electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in the presence of organic substances, including reactive monomers. The aim of this approach is to generate polymers and simultaneously bind them to the surface of the freshly generated oxide layers. For this purpose, sheets of aluminum were immersed into electrolytes that comprised either 4 % of sodium acrylate or 10 % of sodium benzoate. The aluminum sheets were oxidized by anodic pulse current at 0.25 A/cm(2) for 30-90 s. By this process, predominantly oxidic conversion layers were produced. The presence of the monomers in the electrolyte influenced the passivation and discharge behavior and finally the microstructure of the layers. It further gave rise to organic material in the layer. In particular, infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATR-IR) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) show that layers which were generated in the presence of acrylate or benzoate comprised -C-C-, -C=C-, -C-O, and C=O bonds.