Co-deposition of natural particles in the acidic zinc electroplating process

The co-deposition of natural particles was studied in zinc electroplating on mild steel in the acidic sulfate bath aiming a composite coating. Despite most papers reported the effect of natural extracts in such process, the evaluation of natural particles adhered to the coating was not explored yet. The process efficiency, surface morphological changes, and corrosion resistance were evaluated in different concentrations of avocado seed powder (ASP, Persea americana), cocoa bean shell powder (CBSP, Theobroma cacao), and garlic peel powder (GPP, Allium sativum). In general, the current efficiency was not significantly influenced by the presence of any natural particles, reaching values over 90 %. The presence of natural particles impacted the active sites on the substrate surface, modifying the grain growth assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The GPP samples showed better visual aspect and higher compactivity. By Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, such natural particles are constituted by molecules of long carbon chains with chemical groups – amines, carboxylic acids, and phenols. Hence, the presence of natural particles in the coating layer led to different responses in the contact angle test, where GPP samples showed higher wettability (θ < 90°), followed by ASP and CBSP samples (θ > 100°). Such behavior indicates a greater bath penetration during the electroplating process in the presence of more hydrophilic particles, which may have resulted in the refined deposits of the GPP samples. The concentration of 0.330 g/L GPP presented higher impedance modulus (6548.3 Ω.cm2 at 0.03 Hz) in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIE) and reduced the anodic ionic current density at least four times in the scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). The same was observed in the salt spray test (SST) adapting ASTM B117, which revealed to be sensitive enough to indicate that the 0.330 g/L GPP sample showed greater corrosion resistance.