Highly anti–corrosive treatment of low–carbon steel

Abstract

This paper describes the use of a combination of two specific layers to protect the surface of low–carbon steel against electrochemical corrosion phenomena, which has not been published in the scientific literature so far. The layers include a black oxide film and siloxane coating, which are formed in the steel blackening and sol–gel processes, respectively. The so–obtained samples were subjected to surface morphology and physicochemical analysis (atomic force microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) as well as electrochemical measurements, including AC and DC techniques. The physicochemical and surface morphology analysis allowed to prove the presence and adhesion of the siloxane coating to the surface of the black oxide layer, while the results of the electrochemical tests show that low–carbon steel modified this way is characterized by remarkable anti–corrosive properties, comparable to those of stainless steel.