Electrochemical corrosion behavior of chromium-phosphorus coatings electrodeposited from trivalent chromium baths

Chromium-phosphorus (Cr-P) coatings are electrodeposited from trivalent Cr (Cr(III)) baths containing hypophosphite. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of Cr-P coatings, traditional Cr coatings deposited in hexavalent Cr (Cr(VI)) baths, and chromium-carbon (Cr-C) coatings deposited in Cr(III) baths containing formate are studied by measuring potentiodynamic polarization curves in a 10 wt% HCl solution. The composition and morphology of the coating surface layers are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results of electrochemical tests show that Cr-P coatings exhibit better corrosion resistance than traditional Cr and Cr-C coatings, which is characterized by a lower critical current density, lower passive current density, and lager passive potential range. XPS and SEM analyses confirm that the excellent corrosion resistance of Cr-P coatings is attributed to the formation of a phosphide passive film, which has high stability and self-repairing ability, and can act as a “buffer” to reject the penetration of chloride ions.