A research team at the University of Nevada, Reno, has developed a new environmentally friendly coating for aluminum to replace the carcinogenic chromate coatings used in aerospace applications. The chromate conversion coatings have been used for more than 50 years to protect aluminum from corrosion. The team presented their research at the international Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science in Hawaii.
“It was well received at the conference,” Dev Chidambaram, Lead Scientist and Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada, said. “There is no question that this will be able to replace the chromate-based coating. Even though the coating formulation is yet to be optimized, the coating has shown exceptional performance.”