Self-assembled monolayer of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane for improved adhesion between aluminum alloy substrate and polyurethane coating

A good adhesion between a polymer coating and a metal or metal alloy substrate such as Al 2024-T3 plays a critical role in corrosion protection of metal substrates. In our study, a self-assembled monolayer film of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was formed on Al 2024-T3 substrate by covalent bonding. The adhesion property of a self-priming polyurethane coating was evaluated by pull-off adhesion test, wet tape test and thermal cycling test. All the testing results indicate that both dry and wet adhesion properties of the polyurethane coating were improved significantly after APS treatment of Al 2024-T3 in polar solvents such as methanol and acetone. In nonpolar solvents such as hexane, the APS treatment led to inconsistent improvement or sometime decreased adhesion of polyurethane coating. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study revealed that while a monolayer film was formed on the aluminum alloy surface after treating the substrate with APS in methanol and acetone, a multilayer film was formed on the substrate surface when the treatment was conducted in hexane. The APS monolayer film served as a covalent bond linkage between polymer coating and aluminum alloy substrates, which led to the increased adhesion property of polymer coating and corrosion resistance of the metal alloy substrate.