This work contributes to the development of a new environmentally friendly alternative pretreatment for 2024 aluminium alloys to replace hexavalent chromium based conversion layers in the aeronautical field. A silica mesoporous thin film, synthesized through the evaporation induced self-assembly process, was doped with benzotriazole to obtain active corrosion protection. Inhibitor loading contents were correlated with pore characteristics. The release kinetics was studied as function of pH. The application of the doped mesoporous film on 2024 aluminium alloy revealed a slowing down of corrosion processes, demonstrating its potential as an active inhibitor storage layer. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.