Synergistic Effect of Gelatin and Glycerol on Electrodeposition of Zn-Ni Alloy

Abstract

The use of organic compounds which improves corrosion resistance has attracted growing interest in electroplating technology. In this direction, this article presents the experimental results of electrodeposition of Zn-Ni alloy on mild steel (MS) from acid chloride bath using gelatin and glycerol as additives. The bath composition and operating parameters have been optimized by the conventional Hull cell method. The effect of gelatin and glycerol, individually and in combination on the deposition process, was identified by a cyclic voltammetry (CV) study at different scan rates. Bright deposition of Zn-Ni alloy was found at optimal current density (c.d.) due to the preferential deposition of gelatin and glycerol by controlling the Ni content of the alloy. The CV study demonstrated that alloy deposition is diffusion controlled when additives were used individually and is adsorption controlled when used in combination. Corrosion behaviors at different current densities (c.d.s) were evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance (EIS) methods. The surface morphology and phase structure of the coatings were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The experimental results revealed that both gelatin and glycerol have synergistic effects in improving the electrocrystallization process and, hence, the corrosion stability of the coatings. At an optimal c.d. (3.0 A dm−2), the Zn-Ni alloy coating showed peak performance against corrosion with the least corrosion rate. Better corrosion protection at optimal c.d., which was attributed to specific Zn(101), γ-(411,330), and Zn(103) reflections, is evidenced by the XRD study.