An attempt to improve corrosion resistance of a continuous zinc coated steel by surface modification

Continuous sheet galvanizing is a process to obtain coils which can resist corrosion. In this paper samples obtained from a thinly coated continuously galvanized steel sheet were modified through etching, heating and immersion in a solution containing lauric acid to obtain a superhydrophobic surface, whose behavior was analyzed in terms of anti-corrosion and anti-drag performances. SEM, static water contact angles, potentio-dynamic tests, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and fluid dynamic tests demonstrated that the final surface was superhydrophobic, but the anti-corrosion and anti-drag properties were not improved, probably due to the non-uniformity and the very low thickness of the surface treatment.