Effect of Graphene Oxide Concentration in Electrolyte on Corrosion Behavior of Electrodeposited Zn–Electrochemical Reduction Graphene Composite Coatings

Abstract

Pure Zn and Zn–ERGO composite coatings were prepared by direct current electrodeposition on 304 stainless steel. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and laser Raman spectroscopy (Raman). Results obtained have shown that the concentration of GO sheets in zinc sulfate electrolyte has an important effect on the preferred crystal orientation and the surface morphology of Zn–ERGO composite coatings. A study of the corrosion behavior of the coatings by Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) methods leads to the conclusion that the Zn-1.0 g/L ERGO composite coating possesses the best corrosion resistance compared to the pure Zn coating and other composite coatings in this study.