The Effect of Zn and Zn–WO3 Composites Nano-Coatings Deposition on Hardness and Corrosion Resistance in Steel Substrate

Abstract

Pure Zn (Zinc) and its Zn–WO3 (Zinc–Tungsten trioxide) composite coatings were deposited on mild steel specimens by applying the electrodeposition technique. Zn–WO3 composites were prepared for the concentration of 0.5 and 1.0 g/L of particles. The influence of WO3 particles on Zn deposition, the surface morphology of composite, and texture co-efficient were analyzed using a variety of techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Higher corrosion resistance and microhardness were observed on the Zn–WO3 composite (concentration of 1.0 g/L). The higher corrosion resistance and microhardness of 1.0 g/L Zn–WO3 nanocomposite coatings effectively protect the steel used for the manufacture of products, parts, or systems from chemical or electrochemical deterioration in industrial and marine ambient environments.

Electrodeposition Based Preparation of Zn–Ni Alloy and Zn–Ni–WC Nano-Composite Coatings for Corrosion-Resistant Applications

“…The resulting composite coatings offered higher deformation. The corrosion rate of Zn [51], Zn-WO 3 [51], Zn-Ni alloy, and Zn-Ni-WC composites are found equal to 32.69, 2.803, 1.192, and 0.6948 Å/min, respectively. Compared to WO 3 nanoparticles, Ni metallic ions alloyed with the Zn matrix exhibited a 57.47% decreased corrosion rate in coatings [51].…”

“…The corrosion rate of Zn [51], Zn-WO 3 [51], Zn-Ni alloy, and Zn-Ni-WC composites are found equal to 32.69, 2.803, 1.192, and 0.6948 Å/min, respectively. Compared to WO 3 nanoparticles, Ni metallic ions alloyed with the Zn matrix exhibited a 57.47% decreased corrosion rate in coatings [51]. It is important to note that the addition of WC nanoparticles to Zn-Ni alloy, i.e., Zn-Ni-WC composites, resulted in a 41.71% decreased corrosion rate compared to the Zn-Ni alloy.…”

“…Methods such as Williamson-Hall plot, Le Bail, Warren-Averbach, and Scherrer's models can be applied to determine the crystal size of the coating deposits [64][65][66]. In the present work, the Scherrer equation (Equation ( 1)) was applied to estimate the average crystallite size of electrodeposits based on the XRD data patterns (i.e., peak width at mean height) [51,63,64].…”

“…The use of multi-layer and composite coatings widens their applications (e.g., automotive, electrical transmission, fluid transfer, aerospace, and defense) due to their enhanced properties [45]. Multi-layered zinc-based alloy coatings (Zn-Co, Zn-Ni, Zn-Ni-Co, Zn-Al 2 O 3 -Cr 2 O 3 , Zn-TiO 2 -WO 3 , Zn-WO 3 , Zn-Fe-Mo) are applied with the electrodeposition technique to evaluate the corrosion resistance characteristics [41,42,47,[49][50][51]. The presence of Fe 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , SiO 2 , and Co particles in the Zn-Ni bath solution results in better corrosion resistance [44][45][46].…”

“…The microhardness corresponds to electrodeposited Zn[51], Zn-WO3[51], Zn-Ni alloy, and Zn-Ni-WC composite nanocoatings were found to be equal to 47.6 HV, 73.2 HV, 97 HV, and 105.3 HV, respectively. Compared to WO3 nanoparticles metallic, Ni and WC particles improved the microhardness to a greater extent on the coatings.…”