Preparation of high-performance electroplated zinc coatings using modified DESs method

Abstract

This study suggests a new process for zinc recycling in the iron and steel industry, that is, using RHF zinc-containing refined dust as the raw material and ChCl-urea DES (Reline) as the medium. The solid waste from the bottom-turning furnace is leached out, and the resulting zinc is plated directly onto automobile plates. This paper focuses on the utilization of EDTA as an additive to improve the overall performance of the zinc coatings. The results demonstrated that the addition of EDTA realized the modulation of the morphology of the coatings, which made the surface milky white and uniformly bright. The coating consists of hexagonal lamellar grains, dominated by (002) crystalline surfaces that grow at small angles, and the surface flatness is dramatically improved. Most importantly, the hardness of the modified coatings was increased by 70.0% and the coefficient of friction was reduced by about 29.2% compared with the coatings obtained in the pure solution. The addition of EDTA led to the formation of a surface passivation film during the corrosion process, which significantly improved the corrosion resistance of the material surface and the corrosion rate was reduced by 0.355 mm.A−1.