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ZINC PLATING

Zinc alloy plating has found significant use since about 1980 in Japan and Europe, and
more recently in the US. The driving force behind the development of this technology was the
quest for higher-performance coatings, especially in the automotive industry. Another driver
was the urgent need to find and adequate replacement for cadmium plating; cadmium is
highly toxic and its use has been banned in many industrial countries.

The use of zinc alloys provides several advantages. Electrochemically, alloys have
different corrosion potentials from their alloys elements. Alloys of zinc, for example, can be
designed to maintain anodic protection to steel but remain less electrochemically active than
pure zinc. Thus, a zinc alloy coating can still be sacrificial to steel components, but corrodes
much more slowly than zinc when exposed to a corrosive environment.

Several zinc alloys processes are currently in commercial use. The choice of a
particular procedure depends on the end-product requirements and conditions of use.
Available alloys are zinc-iron, zinc-cobalt, zinc-niquel and tin-zinc. As in unalloyed zinc
plating, chromate conversion coating post-treatments are used to improve the overall
corrosion resistance of the alloy, and especially to retard the bulky ”white rusting”
characteristic of unalloyed zinc.

ZINC-NIQUEL PLATING

Zinc-niquel alloys produce the highest corrosion resistance of electroplated zinc

alloys. These alloys contain from 5 to 15% Ni. Corrosion resistance improves with niquel
content up to 15 to 18%. Beyond this range the alloy becomes more noble than steel and loses
its sacrificial protection property. An alloy containing 10 to 13 wt% Ni is electroplated on
steel strip and coil as an alternative to zinc-iron or electrogalvanizing. For components,
chromatizing is required; however, best results are achieved on alloys containing 5 to 10% Ni.
For alloys in this range of niquel content, corrosion resistance to neutral salt spray test
(NSST) reaches 1000 h, Table 1, or more before red rust.

An advantage of zinc-nickel alloy coating retention of 60 to 80% of their corrosion

resistance after heat treatment of plated components. This attribute makes these alloys
suitable for automotive applications such as fasteners, brake and fuel lines, and other under-
the-hood components. Another advantage of this coating is that it does not undergo hydrogen
embrittlement.

Zinc-nickel alloys plated from alkaline baths have shown potential as substitutes for
cadmium coatings in aircraft and military applications. Available chromates are clear,
iridescent, bronze and black.

Typical zinc-nickel bath compositions are given in Table 2. Alkaline formulations are
preferred for their ease of operation and because they provide more uniform alloy
composition and better overall corrosion resistance, especially on tubing and on internal
configurations of parts.

Prepared by Javier A. Garcia

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Table 1: Corrosion rates for zinc alloys coatings under NSST

Coating(a) Hours to red rust

Zinc 200-250
Zinc-iron (1% Fe) 350
Zinc-cobalt (0.8 % Co) 500
Zinc-niquel (8 % Ni) 1000
Tin-zinc (70 % Sn) 1000

(a) Coating thickness, 8 µm; iridescent yellow chromate post-treatment

Table 2: Compositions and process parameters for zinc-niquel plating solutions

Constituent or parameter Amount or value

Acid Baths
Zinc chloride, g/L 120-130
Niquel chloride, g/L 110-130
Potassium chloride, g/L 200-250
Ammonium chloride, g/L 100-200
Organic additives, g/L(a) 5-10
pH 5-6
Anodes Zinc and nickel connected
to two separate rectifiers

Alkaline Baths
Sodium hydroxide, g/L 100-130
Zinc, g/L 6-15
Nickel, g/L 0.5-1.5
Organic additives, g/L 2-5
Anodes Zinc and steel, one rectifier
Temperature, °C 20-35
(a) Used only in some compositions

Prepared by Javier A. Garcia

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ZINC-IRON PLATING

→ 15 to 25% Fe as-plated
Advantages:
→ Good weldability and ductility.
→ Suitability for deep black chromating
Disadvantages:
→ Corrosion resistance is lower than of the other zinc alloys. Especially
after exposure to high temperatures such as those encountered by
under the hood automotive components.

ZINC-COBALT PLATING

→ 0.6 to 2% Co
→ Plating baths: acid and alkaline. Alkaline is preferred for tubes and
other configuration s with internal unplated parts. Exposure to acidic
electrolyte reduces the corrosion resistance of such parts.
→ Available chromates include clear, yellow, iridescent and black.

Advantages:
→ Extensive use for relatively inexpensive components in applications
that require improved abrasion resistance and corrosion protection.
→ A unique attribute of this alloy is its corrosion resistance to sulfur
dioxide in accelerated corrosion tests. Thus, it is suitable for use in
sulfur-containing corrosive environments.

Disadvantages:
→ Some reduction of corrosion resistance is experienced after
exposure to high temperature, but not as much as with zinc-iron
alloys.

TIN-ZINC PLATING

→ 10 to 30% Zn
→ Cyanide, acid and neutral commercial baths are available.
→ Tin-zinc is finding increasing application in the automotive and
electronic industries and as a substitute for cadmium plating.
→ The tin-zinc deposit is semibright as-plated ans is used primarily as a
funtional coating.

Advantages:
→ Excellent solderability, ductility and corrosion resistance.

Disadvantages:
→ The tin-zinc baths are expensive to operate because they require the
use of special cast tin-zinc anodes.
→ Chromate posttreatments are limited to yellow or clear.

Prepared by Javier A. Garcia