Abstract
Inhibitor characteristics of 27 compounds considered as possible replacements for chromate pigments in aerospace paint were investigated. These compounds were tested and screened in solution and not as actual paint additives. In initial testing, aluminum alloy (AA) 2024-T3 (UNS A92024) samples were exposed to 0.6 M sodium chloride (NaCl, pH adjusted to 7, T = 23°C) with 3.4 mM of the candidate compound dissolved in solution. Corrosion inhibition characteristics were assessed via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) performed over 10 days, and the statistical analysis of pit depths was analyzed at the conclusion of each exposure. Promising candidates then were exposed to more extreme environments to simulate possible service-life conditions. These environments included unbuffered 0.6 M NaCl initially adjusted to pH 3, T = 23°C and pH 10, T = 23°C. Several candidate inhibitors appeared promising: barium metaborate, cerium chloride, cerium oxalate, lanthanum chloride, and sodium metavanadate. Under the conditions of these tests, sodium metavanadate consistently displayed the best performance. EIS data indicated the corrosion performance of sodium metavanadate was within an order of magnitude of sodium chromate (Na2CrO4), while pit depth values for metavanadate were comparable to those observed for Na2CrO4. Rankings of inhibitor performance as determined by EIS was supported by the extreme value analysis of pit depth.
