Cathodic electrodeposition of cerium based oxides on carbon steel from concentrated cerium nitrate. Part II: Influence of electrodeposition parameters and of the addition of PEG

The mechanisms of formation of cerium based oxides on carbon steel by cathodic electrodeposition from relatively concentrated cerium nitrate solutions were investigated in a previous work (Part I). It was shown that some corrosion products developed on the steel upon and soon after coating, thereby suggesting the films were not protective. This work (Part II) focuses on the influence of various elaboration parameters on the composition and morphology of the deposits likely to improve the corrosion resistance of carbon steel. It will be shown that an increase of the precursor concentration increases the Ce(OH)3 content of the deposits and brings about larger crystallite sizes at low to moderate applied current densities. As a result, the formation of the carbonated green rust corrosion product is not hindered. The kinetics of formation of the film follows a polynomial law in which concurrent deposition and dissolution steps are combined. However, an increase of the deposition time results in a reduced content of Ce(OH)3 in the layers, hence in an evolution of the colour of the deposits. Similarly, the increase of the temperature of the bath brings about significant modifications of the surface morphology, of the crystallite size and of the content of oxygen vacancies that are suspected not to confer adequate protection. In contrast, the addition of 10 g L−1 of PEG to the 0.1 M cerium nitrate solutions will be shown to inhibit the development of the carbonated green rust.