ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Effect of silicon on the formation of zirconium-based hybrid coatings on advanced high-strength steel surface

Sen Yan, Yanliang Zhao, Yigang Dai, Jianzhong Li, Junjie Shi, Xuanwen Gao, and Kai Yu

Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China

E-mail: senyan96@126.com

Received: 10 January 2024  Accepted: 8 March 2024

Abstract:

The specific mechanism of influence of added Si in advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) on the formation of zirconium-based hybrid coatings is discussed in detail in this paper. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that the coating resistance of the zirconium-based hybrid coating increased from 11.7 Ω·cm² to 359.9 Ω·cm² with the increase in silicon content in the high-strength steel from 0.47 wt.% to 1.70 wt.%. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis demonstrated that the defects within the coating gradually decreased as the silicon content in the high-strength steel increased. Simultaneously, with the increase in silicon content in high-strength steel, the coating resistance of the composite coating increased from 665 Ω·cm² to 1544 Ω·cm² and the degree of coating damage significantly decreased when combined with bisphenol-A epoxy resin, which indicated that an increase in silicon content in AHSS enhanced the corrosion resistance, uniformity, and adhesion of the zirconium-based hybrid coating. By combining X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) and focused ion beam-transmission electron microscope (FIB-TEM) results, the enhancement of the zirconium-based hybrid coating properties was related to the enhancement of the MnSiO₃ and SiO₂ contents on the surface of the AHSS. MnSiO₃ was found to provide the initial nucleation sites for the zirconium-based hybrid coatings, while SiO₂ could accelerate the deposition reaction of the coatings, resulting in the formation of excellent zirconium-based hybrid coatings on high Si steels with higher MnSiO₃ and SiO₂ contents.

Keywords: Si content; Zirconium-based hybrid coating; Corrosion resistance; Adhesion; Nucleation

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-024-03412-7

Chemical Papers 78 (7) 4481–4493 (2024)