ELECTRODEPOSITION OF POLYPYRROLE LAYERS ON ALUMINUM FROM AQUEOUS-ELECTROLYTES

A screening of twenty aqueous electrolytes for a film-forming electropolymerization of pyrrole with Al was performed. Electrodeposition of well adhering homogeneous polypyrrole layers on aluminium is possible from aqueous electrolytes containing 0.1-0.8 M oxalic acid. Pretreatment of the metal by polishing (PD) or by anodic (galvanostatic) activation (GA) is an essential step. In all cases, the Al2O3 surface layer with pores, usually filled with electrolyte, is transformed to a Al2O3 layer with polypyrrole filled pores. The PPy-layers on Al allow an easy cathodic coating with metals like copper. The hydrogenoxalate doped layers exhibit the ususal redox capacity, y=0.3. The sandwich structure Al/Al2O3/PPy represents a condenser with an unusual composite dielectric with the electronically conducting 'plates' Al and PPy. According to our impedance measurements, the PPy in the pores is a high resistivity material due to overoxidation in the course of electropolymerization at high local current densities. The composite, Al2O3/overoxidized PPy, exhibits an unusually high permittivity, in the order of 103. © 1990 Chapman and Hall Ltd.