LAUSR

This work is focused on studying the preparation and characterization of two different conducting polymers, polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), on aluminum alloy AA2024-T3. In addition to the direct electrochemical deposition of the conducting polymers onto an untreated aluminum substrate, the alloy surface pre-treatments based on single chemical acid pickling or chemical acid pickling followed by application of self-assembled monolayers have been also considered before the coating application. Coatings electrochemically deposited onto both untreated and pre-treated substrates have been characterized by physicochemical and electrochemical techniques, whereas their protective performance has been evaluated by means of polarization electrochemical techniques and accelerated corrosion tests. Although conducting polymers are widely used as protective coatings for steel substrates, the results obtained in this work indicate that their protective effect is not improved when deposited onto aluminum.