Microstructure and electrochemical characterization of trivalent chromium based conversion coating on zinc

A trivalent chromium based conversion coating (CCC), based on chromium nitrate solution with Co(II) ions, was developed on Zn substrate. The corrosion resistance of the trivalent CCC, measured in deaerated pH 8.0 borate buffer + 0.01 M NaCl solution using anodic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), was very sensitive to both immersion time and bath pH. Micro-cracks were found on the surface of the CCC. Besides, the density of micro-crack and the coating thickness also depended on immersion time and bath pH. With increasing the coating thickness its pitting potential increased and passive current density decreased. The trivalent CCC formed on Zn for 40 s in pH 1.7 bath showed the best corrosion resistance, and the pitting potential increased significantly from −355 mVSCE for Zn to 975 mVSCE for the trivalent CCC on Zn. To explain the corrosion behavior of the trivalent CCC using EIS analysis, a modified equivalent circuit, which considered the micro-cracks in the coating and chromium corrosion product (CCP) deposited in the micro-cracks, was designed and the variation of each electrical parameter was examined. Especially, its corrosion behavior was well described by the variation of the resistance of CCP (Rccp).