Steps Involved in SAIE

The first step of SAIE in the case of corrosion protection of aluminum alloys is the preparation of oxides. The top layer of an aluminum alloy is generally covered with hydrated mixed oxides. Either alkaline cleaning or a combination of alkaline cleaning and deoxidization removes major organic contaminants and this potentially unstable oxide layer. A thin layer of plasma polymer is deposited on the stabilized oxide layer thus created. 

Although low-pressure plasma treatment and plasma polymerization are the main tool of the interface engineering described in this book, SAIE does not necessarily require low-pressure plasma processes. Some excellent corrosion 

Using the aluminum sheet substrate as the cathode of a direct current (DQ glow discharge, cathodic plasma polymerization is carried out. Dealing with metal surfaces, cathodic plasma polymerization is the most practical means to provide the best corrosion protection (see Chapter 13). A primer is applied on the surface of the plasma polymer. The thickness of the plasma polymer is roughly 50 nm on average and that of the primer layer is about 30,000 nm (30 pm). Primers used included E-coat (electrolytic deposition of paint) and spray primers, but no top coat was applied in the study of corrosion protection. 

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