Electrochemical strategies for the strengthening of polymer-metal interfaces

Polymers have been widely used for the protection of metals against corrosi on and for improving the performance of structural adhesive joints. In this contribution, the weakness and short-term durability of these polymer-meta l interactions and some common approaches for alleviating this problem are briefly reviewed. Among the existing techniques, electrochemical processes offer the advantage of controlled interfacial reactions. Promising results have been reported by Stratmann et al. and Lecayon et al., who have emphasi zed the interest and opportunity to create strong chemical bonds between th e organic coating and the metallic substrate. Their work is discussed in th is review, along with results recently obtained in our group.