The influence of Fe2+ concentration and deposition time on the corrosion resistance of the electrodeposited zinc-nickel-iron alloys

Electrodeposition operating conditions for Zn-Ni-Fe alloys from sulfate baths and the corrosion resistance of the electrodeposited alloys were studied. The comparison between Zn-Ni and Zn-Ni-Fe alloys co-deposition revealed that the remarkable inhibition of Ni and Fe deposition takes place due to the presence of Zn2+ in the plating bath. The electrodeposition was performed on the steel substrate, under galvanostatic conditions, for varying Fe2+ bath concentrations and at different times. X-ray diffraction studies of the deposit showed the presence of Fe3Ni2 phase and γ-phase with a composition of Ni2Zn11. The obtained data also exposed that the corrosion resistance increases as a result of increasing Fe2+ concentration and deposition time. Investigation was carried out using cyclic voltammetry and galvastatic techniques for electrodeposition, while linear polarization resistance and anodic linear sweeping voltammetry techniques were used for corrosion study.