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X-ray photoelectron and scanning Auger electron spectroscopy study of electrodeposited ZnCr coatings on steel

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Abstract

Zn–Cr alloyed coatings electrochemically deposited are of high interest for leading steel manufacturing companies because of their novel properties and high corrosion resistance compared with conventional Zn coatings on steel. For tuning and optimizing the properties of the electrodeposited Zn–Cr coatings, a broad range of the deposition conditions must be studied. For this reason, two different types of material were investigated in this study, one with a low electrolyte temperature and one with an elevated electrolyte pH, compared with the standard values. Because different corrosion performance and delamination behaviour of the layers were observed for the two types, advanced surface analysis was conducted to understand the origin of this behaviour and to discover differences in the formation of the coatings. The topmost surface, the shallow subsurface region, and the whole bulk down to the coating–steel interface surface were analysed in detail by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high-resolution scanning Auger electron spectroscopy to determine the elemental and the chemical composition. For better understanding of the resulting layer structure, multiple reference samples and materials were measured and their Auger and XPS spectra were fitted to the experimental data. The results showed that one coating type is composed of metallic Zn and Cr, with oxide residing only on the surface and interface, whereas the other type contains significant amounts of Zn and Cr oxides throughout the whole coating thickness.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support by the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth and the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christian Doppler Laboratory for Microscopic and Spectroscopic Material Characterisation/Center for Surface and Nanoanalysis, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040, Linz, Austria

    H. Itani, J. Duchoslav, M. Arndt & D. Stifter

  2. voestalpine Stahl GmbH, voestalpine-Straße 3, 4031, Linz, Austria

    J. Gerdenitsch, J. Faderl, K. Preis & W. Winkler

  3. CEST GmbH, Viktor Kaplan Str. 2, 2700, Wiener Neustadt, Austria

    T. Steck

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  1. H. Itani
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  2. J. Duchoslav
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  3. M. Arndt
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  4. T. Steck
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  5. J. Gerdenitsch
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  6. J. Faderl
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  7. K. Preis
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  8. W. Winkler
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  9. D. Stifter
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Correspondence to H. Itani.

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Published in the special paper collection on Solid State Analysis (FKA 16) with guest editor G. Friedbacher.

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Itani, H., Duchoslav, J., Arndt, M. et al. X-ray photoelectron and scanning Auger electron spectroscopy study of electrodeposited ZnCr coatings on steel. Anal Bioanal Chem 403, 663–673 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5788-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5788-y

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