Electrochemical Studies of Zn-Ni-Fe Alloy Coatings for Better Corrosion Resistance Applications

Abstract

Anti-corrosive alloy coatings are a valuable solution to the protection of low carbon steel structures/equipment against corrosion. The Zn-Ni-Fe coatings have been deposited galvanostatically on low carbon steel from an acid chloride bath. Sulfanilic acid and gelatin were used as additives for the homogeneity of the deposit. The Hull cell method has been used to optimize both bath constituents and plating conditions. The corrosion behavior of the coating films was examined with potentiodynamic polarization and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods. The effects of current density, pH, and temperature on deposit properties like hardness, thickness, and corrosion rates were examined. The electrochemical characteristics of the Zn-Ni-Fe have been studied by the cyclic voltammetry technique. The morphology of the deposit was investigated with scanning electron microscopy and the surface roughness of the coating film was analyzed by atomic force microscopy. The Ni and Fe contents in the deposit were analyzed by colorimetric technique and cross-checked with energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. The capacitive reactance at the interface is attributed to the excellent corrosion resistance at optimal current density (40 mA cm−2) as indicated by the Nyquist plot with large polarization resistance. Furthermore, the positive slope of Mott-Schottky revealed that the semiconductor film at the interface is n-type. The results show that a new Zn-Ni-Fe alloy coating film exhibits better corrosion resistance properties and can be executed in industrial applications such as machine tools, bolts, and nuts in the automobile for corrosion protection, etc. © 2022, ASM International.