Abstract
In this paper, we present results concerning the electrochemical deposition of Zn-SiC composite coatings reinforced with nano-, submicro-, and microparticles. The influence of current density, particle size, and ultrasound on functional parameters which are especially important from a practical point of view (i.e., concentration of particles in coatings, current efficiency, morphology, reflectivity, roughness, hardness, and corrosion resistance) are investigated and discussed. Coatings were deposited from commercial, chloride-based electrolytes dedicated for the deposition of Zn coatings in a weakly acidic environment. Electrodeposited composites contained up to 1.58, 4.08, and 1.15 wt. % of SiC for coatings reinforced with nano, submicro, and micrometric particles, respectively. The process proceeded with relatively high efficiency, exceeding 80% in almost all cases. The results indicate that ultrasounds strongly increase Faradaic efficiency and affect the kinetics of electrode processes and the properties of synthesized coatings. Moreover, the obtained results show that it is possible to synthesize composite coatings with slightly higher mechanical properties while retaining corrosion resistance compared to metallic Zn coatings.
Highlights
The results presented in this paper are devoted to the analysis of the influence of the synthesis conditions, i.e., current density, SiC particle size, and ultrasound configuration, Materials 2021, 14, 3033 on the composition, electrolysis efficiency, morphology, and various parameters important from the application point of view, such as the roughness, reflectivity, hardness, and corrosion resistance of the coatings
The obtained results indicated that it is possible to synthesize Zn-SiC composite coatings from weak-acid electrolytes, and confirmed that the presence of ultrasound during synthesis has a significant impact on the properties of the obtained coatings
The highest content of particles in the coatings was noted for the coatings synthesized in the presence of ultrasound from an electrolyte containing submicrometric particles at a current density of
Summary
Academic Editors: Frank Czerwinski and Hendra Hermawan. Zinc-based materials have been in great demand for decades. There are many publications on zinc-based materials analyzed in the context of applications ranging from metallic anti-corrosion coatings [1,2,3,4,5] to protective composite coatings [1,6,7,8], decorative coatings [9,10], biodegradable materials [11,12], alloys with increased corrosion resistance [13,14], rechargeable aqueous batteries [15,16], and semiconductors [17,18,19]. Zinc coatings are most commonly used for the anti-corrosion protection of steel constructions
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