Study on corrosion resistance of arc sprayed Zn–xAl (x = 19, 27, and 37) pseudo alloy coatings in salt spray environment

Abstract

To study the corrosion behavior of Zn–Al pseudo alloy coatings with different Al contents, Zn–xAl (x = 19, 27, and 37) pseudo alloy coatings were prepared by the wire arc spraying technique using Zn and Al wires with different diameters. This study investigated the microstructure, electrochemical corrosion behavior, and corrosion morphology and products of the as-sprayed coatings after the salt spray test in 5 wt% NaCl solution. The results exhibited that the Zn–Al pseudo alloy coatings with higher Al content form denser corrosion products (Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂·H₂O and Zn–Al layered double hydroxide) with stronger self-shielding effect against corrosive media, thus provide better long-term corrosion protection. Besides, electrochemical reactions are controlled by mass transfer until corrosion for 24 h, and then by a combination of mass transfer and diffusion for 96 h. Overall, it can be concluded that the Zn–37Al pseudo alloy coating in this study shows great potential to protect steel substrates from corrosion.