Glycerol Effect on the Corrosion Resistance and Electrodeposition Conditions in a Zinc Electroplating Process

Zinc electrodeposition is an economical process of Zn coating compared to conventional galvanic process. The galvanizing process is used in various industrial sectors to protect ferrous alloys during the corrosion process. In buildings, the galvanizing process is widely used to coat mortar protective screens. The electrodeposition of zinc has a relatively low cost compared to other coating materials for the same purpose; however, its corrosion resistance is lower than that of most protective deposits. This study evaluated the effect of adding glycerol to the electrodeposition bath on the corrosion resistance, deposition efficiency, morphology and microstructure of the zinc electrodeposit in concentrations ranging from 0.03 to 0.82 M. The electrodeposition was performed on carbon steel AISI 1020 with a current density of 10 mA.cm-2. The electroplating solution composition was 0.10 M ZnCl2, 2.80 M KCl and 0.32 M H3BO3. Electrodeposition time was 17.56 min, 5 µm thick coating, equivalent to the mass of 7.166E-3 g of zinc on the steel surface. Evaluation of the corrosion resistance was performed by means of the electrochemical tests of Anodic Voltammery, Potentiodynamic Polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) as well as Weight Loss tests in NaCl 0.5 M in 4 (four) different period of immersion. The morphology and microstructures of electrodeposited were analyzed using the techniques of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Spectrometry X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The presence of glycerol in the electrodeposition bath decreased the deposition efficiency; however, it increased corrosion resistance and promoted the formation of more compact and refined electrodeposited coatings. Moreover, the results showed that the corrosion rate does not vary linearly with the addition of glycerol.