Effect of manganese on the formation of hybrid zirconiumbased conversion coating on low carbon steel surface

This study revealed the effect of Mn on the formation of hybrid zirconium-based conversion coatings(HZCC)on low carbon steel.The XPS results indicated that the Mn compounds on the surface of low carbon steel were mainly MnO and Mn_(2)SiO_(4).Combined with the electrochemical measurements,the corrosion resistance of HZCC showed an increase followed by a decrease with increasing Mn concentration,which was related to the Mn_(2)SiO_(4) and SiO_(2) on the surface of low carbon steel.The excessive Mn concentration resulted in the loss of SiO_(2) and aggregation of Mn_(2)SiO_(4) on the low carbon steel surface,which caused the aggregation of Zr compounds on the surface and reduced the uniformity of the coating.Meanwhile,a moderate amount of Mn addition would be beneficial to increase the adhesion of organic coatings.