Effect of heat treatment on anodic activation of aluminium by trace element indium

Abstract The presence of trace elements in Group IIIA–VA is known to activate aluminium anodically in chloride environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the surface segregation of trace element In by heat treatment and resulting surface activation. Model binary AlIn alloys, containing 20 and 1000 ppm by weight of In, were characterized after heat treatment at various temperatures by use of glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, electron microscopy and electrochemical polarization. Heat treatment for 1 h at 300 °C gave significant segregation of discrete In particles (thermal segregation), which activated the surface. Indium in solid solution with aluminium, obtained by 1 h heat treatment at 600 °C, also activated by surface segregation of In on alloy containing 1000 ppm In, resulting from the selective dissolution of the aluminium component during anodic oxidation (anodic segregation). The effect of anodic segregation was reduced by decreasing indium concentration in solid solution; it had negligible effect at the 20 ppm level. The segregated particles were thought to form a liquid phase alloy with aluminium during anodic polarization, which in turn, together with the chloride in the solution destabilized the oxide.