Electrochemical deposition of nanocrystalline zinc on steel substrate from acid zincate bath

Nanocrystalline zinc coatings were deposited from acid zincate bath containing newly synthesized condensation product. The effect of bath constituents, pH, temperature and current density on the deposit nature were investigated through Hull cell experiments. Current efficiency, throwing power, cathodic polarization and corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt.% NaCl were studied under optimum concentration of additives. Salt spray test and electrochemical measurements showed that nanocrystalline zinc coatings have better corrosion resistance than the zinc coatings deposited from a simple acid zincate bath without additive. The surface morphology and thickness (cross section) of the zinc deposits were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The preferred orientation and average grain size of the zinc electrodeposit were obtained by X-ray diffraction analysis. The particle size was also characterized by TEM analysis. Energy X-ray diffraction (EDX) and FT-IR spectral analysis were carried out to determine the inclusion of addition agent in the deposit. The experimental results indicated that the addition of condensation product of thiamine hydrochloride (THC) and furfural (FFL) leads to a more uniform nanocrystalline deposition with the grain sizes varying from 20–22 nm.