Surface modification of mild steel by co-deposition using Zn-ZnO-Ant hill particulate composite coating in simulated sea water

Naval ships are constructed with mild steel. Corrosion is a major concern in a marine environment. This particular type of material degradation has recently received more attention by the marine industry. Effort is make my researchers to combat this problem. In this work, co-deposition of Zn-ZnO-Ant hill powder composite coating on mild steel was reported with the view to combat this problem. The Ant hill powder was varied from 0 to 25 g. A 10 mL of orange juice was used as an organic additive. The coating thickness, surface roughness, microstructure, hardness values, wear rate and potentiodynamic polarization in simulated sea water were determined. The addition of orange juice as an additive changed the morphological and texture of the coating, and the hardness values, wear and corrosion rate were enhanced. Maximum corrosion protection efficiency of 92.86% and 94.41% was obtained at Zn-ZnO-25gAnt hill and Zn-ZnO-25gAnt hill + orange juice, respectively. The work has established that Zn-ZnO-Ant hill powder composite coating on mild steel is promising.