Innovative sol-gel coatings for corrosion protection of connector housings

Julien Acquadro (1) , Sophie Noël (1) , Pascal Chrétien (1) , Frédéric Houzé (1) , Philippe Teste (1) , Clément Genet (2) , Hiba Hazougaghe (3) , Florence Ansart (3) , Marie Gressier (3) , Marie-Joëlle Menu (3) , Robin Montpellaz (2) , Olivier Gavard (2) , Romain Leroy (4) , Gérald Trédan (4) , Simon Demarthon (5) , Thomas Pichot (5) , Frédéric Raoul (6) , M. Ladiré (6)

1 GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris
2 Amphenol-Socapex
3 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
4 Radiall - Radiall Voreppe
5 Souriau ITD EATON
6 TE Connectivity

This paper presents the electrical properties of innovative sol-gel coatings for connectors. A first study has shown the feasibility of developing a conducting and anticorrosion coating for connector housing based on sol-gel chemistry. Such coatings aimed at replacing cadmium and chromium (VI) as recommended by REACH and RoHS regulations must have equivalent properties. A large consortium has been established in order to tackle aspects of the project from the formulation, the characterizations and the scale-up phases. The electrical properties of the coatings are obtained with conductive fillers of various types. We present here electrical characterizations both at the macroscopic scale and at the microscopic scale and try to correlate the conduction to the various parameters involved in the complex mechanisms ruling the film formation.

Mots clés: aluminum; corrosion protection; cadmium; chromium VI; sol-gel coating; carbon fillers; electrical conduction

Domaines: Matériaux

Julien Acquadro, Sophie Noël, Pascal Chrétien, Frédéric Houzé, Philippe Teste, et al.. Innovative sol-gel coatings for corrosion protection of connector housings. 67th IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts, Oct 2022, Tampa, FL, United States. ⟨10.1109/HLM54538.2022.9969778⟩. ⟨hal-03801186⟩