In the present work, a coating was prepared on an Al alloy substrate by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). To seal the micro defects in the oxide scale, a siloxane layer was prepared on the PEO coating by sol gel method. The polymer sealant was synthesized from Tetraethoxy silane (TEOS) and methacryloxy propyl trimethoxyl silane (MPTES). The chemical structure of the polymer was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphologies and microstructure of the PEO coating and siloxane coating were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that siloxane formed a continuous layer on the surface and effectively sealed the micro defects. The corrosion behavior of the coatings in three different corrosion solutions (NaCl, HCl, and NaOH) was examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization. The corrosion resistance of the sealed coatings was superior to that of the PEO coating because it prevented the penetration of corrosive solutions. The corrosion resistance of the sealed coatings was found to decrease with increasing electrolyte concentration. The work demonstrated that siloxane sealing may greatly enhance the corrosion resistance of Al-based PEO coating in acidic, neutral, and alkaline environments.

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In this communication, a bis-silane prepolymer was used to modify epoxy resin, aiming to enhance the corrosion resistance of epoxy coatings on aluminum alloy substrates. The bis-silane prepolymer was prepared by tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and γ-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (GPTMS). The corrosion behavior of silane-epoxy coatings was studied. Compared with silane monomer-modified epoxy coatings, bis-silane-modified epoxy coatings have lower coating capacitance (Cc), higher charge transfer resistances (Rdl), and lower double layer capacitance (Cdl) during long-time immersion. It indicates that bis-silane-modified epoxy coating has stronger waterproof permeability and substrate corrosion protection ability. In addition, due to the leaching of the silane component and cross-linking reaction between different silanes during the immersion process, the bis-silane-modified epoxy coatings exhibit much stronger “self-healing” ability.

A bis-silane prepolymer-modified epoxy coating was applied to an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy to improve corrosion protection. The bis-silane prepolymer was synthesized from tetraethoxysilane and c-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane. To study the mechanism of protection failure by the silane-epoxy hybrid coating and to determine an appropriate coating for protection, various coatings with different silane prepolymer contents were developed. The corrosion behavior of the coatings was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. In comparison with silane monomer-modified epoxy coatings, the bissilane-modified epoxy coating had lower coating capacitance (C c), higher charge transfer resistance (R dl) and lower double-layer capacitance (C dl) during long immersion times, indicating a higher resistance to water permeation and stronger protection against substrate corrosion. The lowest C c and C dl values were obtained by mixing epoxy and the bis-silane prepolymer at a ratio of 1:1.

A dense alumina ceramic coating was formed on UNS A97075 Al alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). An efficient and environmentally friendly silane layer was prepared to seal the PEO coating. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the PEO coating was completely sealed by the silane layer. The electrochemical corrosion evolution of the silane sealed PEO composite coating was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Based on the EIS data, the corrosion evolution of the silane sealed composite coating could be divided to three stages during 576 h of immersion test, and the silane coating acted as a good physical barrier in the immersion test, effectively delayed the corrosion process and improved the corrosion resistance.

The hot deformation behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy was investigated by hot compression test at deformation temperatures varying from 320 to 440 °C with strain rates ranging from 0.01 to 10 s−1. The results show that the Mg(Zn, Cu)2 particles as a result of the sufficient static precipitation prior to hot compression have an influence on flow softening. A constitutive model compensated with strain was developed from the experimental results, and it proved to be accurate for predicting the hot deformation behavior. Processing maps at various strains were established. The microstructural evolution demonstrates that the dominant dynamic softening mechanism stems from dynamic recovery (DRV) and partial dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The recrystallization mechanism is continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). The microstructure observations are in good agreement with the results of processing maps. On account of the processing map and microstructural observation, the optimal hot processing parameters at a strain of 0.6 are at deformation temperature range of 390–440 °C and strain rate range of 0.010–0.316 s−1 with a peak efficiency of 0.390.

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In order to enhance wear properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy parts, Al2O3-MoO2-SiO2 composite ceramic coatings are formed on Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy by the DC micro-arc oxidation (MAO) method in the silicate electrolyte with sodium molybdate. Effects of sodium molybdate concentration on the structure characteristics and wear resistance of the composite ceramic coatings are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and the wear test, respectively. Analyses indicate that the composite coating consists of different states of Al2O3, MoO2 and mullite phase. With the addition of molybdate in the electrolyte, the morphology and structure are changed. The tribological behavior is greatly affected by the surface characteristics and hardness of the coatings. The composite coatings formed by adding 3 g/L of sodium molybdate electrolyte have the best wear resistance.