Investigation of corrosion behavior of galvanized mild steel by improved Zn acidic bath containing ZnO nanoparticles

In this study, ZnO nano particles were deposited on mild steel sheets from an acidic zinc bath. These particles were synthesized by using an auto combustion technique. The effect of concentration of ZnO nano particles on the corrosion behavior of depositions was investigated. The results of salt spray tests and electrochemical measurements showed that corrosion resistance is improved by addition of ZnO nano particles to the acidic zinc bath. Based on the results, the coating containing 0.5g of zinc oxide nanoparticles had the lowest corrosion rate (1.022mpy) and high corrosion resistance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X- ray diffraction (XRD) were used for studying the surface morphology and crystal structure of the zinc deposit. SEM observations showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles acted as a barrier against corrosive environment by absorbing the corrosive agents. The XRD pattern showed that the addition of nano ZnO decreased the amount of corrosion products, which indicated a higher corrosion resistance compared to the sample without any nano-particles.