Self-healing performance of composite coatings prepared by phosphating and cerium nitrate post-sealing

The phosphated and cerium nitrate post-sealed galvanized steel was firstly scratched to expose zinc layer and then placed in neutral salt spray (NSS) chamber for different durations. The microstructure and compositions of the scratches were investigated using SEM and EDS. The phases of the corrosion products were examined through XRD. The self-healing mechanism of the composite coatings was discussed. The experimental results show that the composite coatings have an excellent corrosion resistance. The corrosion products increase with corrosion time and finally cover the whole scratch. They contain phosphorous, cerium, oxygen, chloride and zinc, and are fine needle and exceedingly compact. The composite coatings are favorable self-healing. During corrosion, the self-healing ions such as Ce 3+ , Ce 4+ , PO 4 3− , Zn 2+ in the composite coatings were dissolved, migrated, recombined, and covered the exposed zinc, impeding zinc corrosion. The self-healing process of the scratches on the composite coatings can be divided into three stages, about 2 h, 4 h, and 24 h, respectively.