Anticorrosive behavior assessment of electrodeposited zinc salicylate coating on carbon steel

Abstract

Abstract The study focuses on the evaluation of a novel composite coating obtained from zinc salicylate (ZnSal). Ion distributions of salicylic acid and zinc(II) were surveyed at various acidities, and pH 9.5 was selected for the direct current electrodeposition of ZnSal/K2SO4 on carbon steel substrate. The surface morpholgy of the ZnSal-steel coating was revealed by scanning electron microscopy, and compact deposited films with dendrite structures (specific surface area 247 m2 g−1, type-H3 BET hysteresis loop at relative pressures from 0.4 to 1.0) could be formed within 25-min plating time. NSST was conducted, and the test duration was 120 h. Preliminary assays were employed to assess its anticorrosive performance in salt spray, and the corrosion rate of the steel plates exhibited a nonlinear relationship with the exposure time. The results showed that the ZnSal-steel had a low corrosion rate <0.11 μm h−1, thereby increasing the potential of ZnSal composites on actual carbon steel for anticorrosive coatings.