Cerium-tannic acid passivation treatment on galvanized steel

A novel cerium-tannic acid passivation treatment was performed on galvanized steel. The corrosion resistance of cerium-tannic passivated samples was tested by dropping test with 0.5 wt.% CuSO4 aqueous solution. The mass loss per unit area of passivated samples was measured after the corrosion in 0.5 mol/L NaCl + 0.005 mol/L H2SO4 at room temperature for 96 h. The electrochemical behaviors of cerium, tannic acid, and cerium-tannic acid passivated samples on galvanized steel in 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution were investigated by polarization curves and electrochemical impendence spectra. The corrosion equivalent circuit was established according to the impedance characteristics. The results show that cerium-tannic acid treated samples exhibit better corrosion resistance than the sole cerium or tannic acid treated samples under the same condition. The mechanism of synergistic effect for cerium-tannic acid passivation on galvanized steel was discussed.