Inhibition of aluminum alloy corrosion in electrolytes by self-assembled fluorophosphonic acid molecular layer

This paper presents the use of self-assembled molecular (SAM) layers of fluorophosphonic acids developed on aluminum surface. The SAM monolayers were adsorbed from ethanol solution, characterized by surface morphology visualized by atomic force microscopy, and by the wettability by contact angle measurements. The anti-corrosion efficiency of the nanolayers was determined by ex situ AFM measurements and by electrochemical techniques, which indicated the importance of the fluorophosphonic acid concentration and of the film formation time in the molecular deposition process. The morphological change with or without nanolayers caused by the corrosive environment was in accordance with the electrochemical results.