Patent ID: 7083831

Claim:
A chromium-free process for inhibiting corrosion of substrates comprising steel, the process comprising the steps of: a) contacting a clean, untreated surface comprising steel with a corrosion inhibitor composition for 0.5 to 60 seconds at a treatment temperature of 10° C. to 50° C., said corrosion inhibitor comprising: i) one or more compounds of formula (I): (CR 1 R 2 ═CR 3 —COO—) n —Me—(O—X) 4-n (I) in which R 1 and R 2 represent H, C 1-12 alkyl, aralkyl, or the group —CO—O—Y, R 3 is H or C 1-12 alkyl, Me is a titanium, silicon, or zirconium ion, X is H, C 1-12 alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, alkoxyl, aroxyl, sulfonyl, phosphate, or pyrophosphate, Y is H, C 1-12 alkyl, or Me, and n=0 to 4; ii) at least one olefinically unsaturated co-monomer containing at least two olefinically unsaturated double bonds per molecule; iii) optionally, one or more other co-monomers containing one olefinically unsaturated double bond per molecule; and iv) one or more radical or cationic polymerization initiators, or any combination thereof, wherein at least one initiator is activatable by radiation; b) removing excess corrosion inhibitor, if any, from the substrate; and c) applying a suitable supply of energy for 0.1 to 120 seconds to the corrosion inhibitor to polymerize the monomers and form a polymeric film on the substrate, said polymeric film having a weight per unit area of 0.1 to 10 g/m 2 .