International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Corrosion remains a major limitation for the long-term use of aluminum alloys such as A356, particularly in chloride-rich environments. Although traditional chromate coatings provide effective protection, their toxicity necessitates environmentally friendly alternatives. In this study, a composite ZrO2–Al2O3–Sm2O3 coating was synthesized via a sol-gel method and deposited on A356 alloy using dip-coating. The precursor system was formulated from zirconyl chloride, samarium oxide, and aluminum oxide, stabilized with acetylacetone and acetic acid at pH 0.5 to ensure homogeneous film formation. The coated samples were thermally treated at 400 °C to obtain dense oxide layers. Corrosion resistance was assessed under neutral salt spray conditions (5% NaCl, 35 °C, 648 h) according to BDS EN ISO 9227:2023. Comparison between uncoated A356, binary Al–Zr (ADZ), and ternary Sm–Al–Zr (SADZ) coatings demonstrated a clear performance improvement with increasing film complexity. While ADZ coatings reduced surface damage relative to the bare alloy, the SADZ films exhibited the lowest amount of corrosion products, minimal surface darkening, and significantly reduced pitting. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of the three oxides: ZrO₂ provides chemical stability, Al2O3 increases layer density, and Sm₂O₃ contributes active corrosion inhibition.
Overall, the ZrO2–Al2O3–Sm2O3 composite film offers a promising non-chromate protective system for improving the long-term corrosion resistance of A356 aluminum alloy.