Study of the formation of chromate conversion coatings on Alclad 2024 aluminum alloy using spectroscopic ellipsometry

The influence of pH of a chromate bath on the morphological and chemical properties of a chromate conversion coating, formed on Alclad 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, has been investigated by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the visible and infra-red regions. Other techniques such as glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy have been used in order to confirm and sustain the results obtained with this technique. The combination of different analytical methods showed a decrease in thickness together with changes in the morphology and chemical composition of the chromate film when the pH is increased from 1.2 to 2.4. Although the complexity of the chromate system and the pronounced roughness of commercial rolled aluminum limit the accuracy of spectroscopic ellipsometry, it is demonstrated that this technique can be usefully applied to the study of thin chromate films formed on industrially relevant aluminum products.