Surface modification of aluminium with reactive microgels

The adsorption and organisation process of reactive microgels has been investigated on technical aluminium. The aim was to replace the present chromating procedure on reactive metals like aluminium because this process was been considered as an ecological problem. By means of a two-step emulsion polymerization with phosphate substituted monomer we have obtained polymeric nano-particles with phosphate groups on the surface. The core is synthesized by copolymerization from styrene (St) and butyl acrylate (BuA). The results of several analytical methods like contact angle SEM or TEM measurements showed, that these microgels were able to adsorb spontaneously onto the substrate surface and subsequently a structured molecular order was formed. The properties of the adsorbed microgel layers were confirmed by industrial linked adhesion and corrosion tests.