Role of Al in Zn bath on the formation of the inhibition layer during hot-dip galvanizing for a 1.2Si–1.5Mn transformation-induced plasticity steel

This study investigated the interaction between the Al in the Zn bath and the surface oxides formed by selective oxidation on a 1.2Si–1.5Mn TRIP steel during hot-dip galvanizing. XPS and TEM were employed for characterization. The results indicated that the amorphous xMnO·SiO2 oxide could react with Al to form a Si–Mn–Al-containing oxide. The crystalline MnSiO3 and Mn2SiO4 oxides could be largely reduced by Al to form holes in the oxide film. Consequently, the steel covered by a layer of mixed xMnO·SiO2 and MnSiO3 could form a continuous Fe2Al5 inhibition layer and showed the highest galvanizability among the three samples examined.