Non-aqueous Environmentally Benign Surface Preparation for Aluminum Pre-treatment Processes Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-061 Topic Title: Non-aqueous Environmentally Benign Surface Preparation for Aluminum Pre-treatment Processes Proposal No.: N161-061-0242 Firm: Surfx Technologies LLC 2631 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Redondo Beach, California 90278 Contact: Thomas Williams Phone: (310) 558-0770 Web Site: http://www.surfxtechnologies.com Abstract: An environmentally benign surface preparation process is proposed for aluminum alloy pre-treatment prior to coating and paint application. Surface preparation of aluminum is a critical factor affecting the performance of subsequent corrosion resistant coatings. Arcane methods of surface preparation are currently employed that have been followed by the Navy for many years. These techniques require the use of toxic chemicals that are dangerous to worker's health, and at the same time, are very expensive to employ. The proposed treatment process is based on the use of atmospheric pressure oxygen plasma to clean and activate bare aluminum surfaces on aircraft components. Atmospheric pressure plasma is an effective way to remove residual carbon contamination and generate surface functional groups for adhesion. The plasma based surface preparation will replace hazardous cleaning, etching, and de-oxidizing processes with a dry process that uses no toxic chemicals, does not produce hazardous waste, and will yield a much higher level of cleaning and priming than current practice. In addition, chemical precursors will be added to the plasma to produce super tough sol-gel-like coatings that can act as a corrosion inhibitor and paint primer. Benefits: This SBIR project will lead to new methods of cleaning and preparing aluminum structures by using atmospheric pressure plasma prior to coating and painting. This process will replace current methods which employ a tank processing line using toxic wet chemicals and requiring multiple immersion rinses that produce hazardous waste. Safely storing, handling, transporting and disposing of these chemicals is a challenge that costs the Navy many millions of dollars per year. Efforts to replace the current coating and anodization processes with environmentally benign, plasma deposited primer coatings will be developed as well. If successful, this approach has the potential to replace the substrate clean, chemical etch, and conversion coating, all with a single plasma process step. In commercial application, these pre-treatment methods will save millions of dollars in Environmental, Health and Safety costs. Moreover, the surfaces will be strongly adherent and corrosion resistant, yielding aluminum components that last longer in service and require less down time due to maintenance. Return