The Corrosion Behavior of Zn/Graphene Oxide Composite Coatings Fabricated by Direct Current Electrodeposition

The zinc (Zn) and Zn/graphene oxide (Zn/GO) composite coatings on the mild steel were fabricated by direct current electrodeposition from an acidic chloride bath without GO and that with four different concentrations (50, 100, 200 and 300 mg/L) of GO, respectively. The GO first is synthesized by using the typical Hummer method. Physical characterizations including the surface and cross-sectional morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure of the Zn and Zn/GO composite coatings were done by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive x-ray and x-ray diffraction. The crystalline size, texture coefficient, water contact angle and hardness of the Zn and Zn/GO composite coatings were measured. The corrosion behavior of the Zn and Zn/GO composite coatings was studied by the electrochemical corrosion tests including the potentiodynamic polarization test and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test and the immersion test. The result reveals that the corrosion resistance of the Zn coating is remarkably increased by the incorporation of GO. Furthermore, it does not show a linear increase with the increase in the amount of incorporated GO and an optimal corrosion resistance is provided by the Zn/GO composite coating attained from the electrolyte containing 100 mg/L GO. The influence of the incorporation of GO on the corrosion resistance of the Zn coating is explained in combination with their physical characterizations.