A study into the electrodeposition of bright zinc on mild steel from acid sulphate bath

In the present work the electrodeposition of zinc from sulphate bath has been carried out in presence of a newly synthesized brightener, which is a condensation product of Cysteine Hydrochloride and Glutaraldehyde (CG). The cyclicvoltammetric and chronoamperometric techniques were used to study the nucleation mechanism involved in the electrodeposition process, while the polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic techniques, were used for corrosion studies. The model of Scharifker and Hills was used to analyze the current transients and it revealed that the zinc electrocrystallization process, in presence of CG is regulated by instantaneous nucleation mechanism. The surface morphology of the deposit was characterised by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and reflectance studies. The preferred orientation and crystallite size of the zinc electrodeposits were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. These studies revealed the influence of CG in producing a bright coating and also exhibited higher corrosion resistant nature.