Protective adhesive zirconium oxide coatings

Abstract

Modern technologies of application of paint or polymer protective coatings on metal surfaces require previous application of adhesive phosphate coatings on them to provide reliable adhesion. Among the known disadvantages of phosphating processes are their high energy content and the rather complex equipment needed for implementation of the processes, while the processes themselves require strict control because the properties of the resulting coatings depend strongly on parameters such as free and total acidity, temperature, and concentration of accelerators. In some cases, nanosized ceramic zirconium oxide adhesion coatings can be an alternative to adhesive phosphate layers. A solution has been prepared and parameters of the process have been determined allowing one to precipitate nanosized ceramic zirconium oxide coatings that satisfy the requirements for adhesive layers under paint coatings. It has been found that the resulting coatings are not inferior in their protective characteristics to amorphous phosphate and silicone coatings.