The article presents the effect of the thermo-chemical treatment of Al2O3 layers on their nanostructure, surface morphology, chemical composition as well as their micromechanical and sclerometric properties. Oxide layers were produced on EN AW-5251 aluminium alloy (AlMg2) by the method of direct current anodizing in a three-component electrolyte. The thermo-chemical treatment was carried out in distilled water and aqueous solutions of Na2SO4·10H2O and Na2Cr2O7·2H2O. It was shown that the thermo-chemical treatment process changes the morphology of the surface of the layers (the formation of a sub-layer from the Na2SO4·10H2O and Na2Cr2O7·2H2O solutions), which directly increases the thickness of the layers by 0.37 and 1.77 µm, respectively. The thermo-chemical treatment in water also resulted in the formation of a 0.63 µm thick sub-layer. The micromechanical tests indicated a rise in the surface microhardness of the layers in the case of their thermo-chemical treatment in water and the Na2SO4·10H2O solution and a decrease in the case of the layers modified in the Na2Cr2O7·2H2O solution. The highest microhardness (7.1 GPa) was exhibited by the layer modified in the Na2SO4·10H2O solution. Scratch tests demonstrated that the thermo-chemically treated layers had better adhesive properties than the reference layer. The best scratch resistance was exhibited by the layer after thermo-chemical treatment in the Na2SO4·10H2O solution (the highest values, practically for all the critical loads) which, together with its low roughness and high load capacity, predispose it to sliding contacts.
Keywords: adhesion; aluminium; anodic oxide; microhardness; nanostructured oxide; thermo-chemical treatment.