Corrosion behavior and microstructure of Al-10Zn alloy with nano CuO addition

Eman AbdElRhiem; Saad G Mohamed; Yosry F Barakat; M M Mostafa; R H Nada; Shereen M Abdelaziz

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-39515-6

Corrosion behavior and microstructure of Al-10Zn alloy with nano CuO addition

Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 8;13(1):12855. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39515-6.

Authors

Eman AbdElRhiem^{1

2}, Saad G Mohamed³, Yosry F Barakat¹, M M Mostafa², R H Nada², Shereen M Abdelaziz²

Affiliations

¹ Mining and Metallurgy Engineering Department, Tabbin Institute for Metallurgical Studies (TIMS), Tabbin, Helwan 109, Cairo, 11421, Egypt.
² Physics Department, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Heliopolis 11771, Roxy, P.O. Box 5101, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Mining and Metallurgy Engineering Department, Tabbin Institute for Metallurgical Studies (TIMS), Tabbin, Helwan 109, Cairo, 11421, Egypt. saadmohamed@tims.gov.eg.

Abstract

The present study explores the preparation of Al-10wt.%Zn alloy by the casting process. Nano CuO was prepared by the Co-precipitation method. The effect of adding nanostructure of (1wt.% CuO) to Al-10Zn alloy was studied the corrosion effects as-cast and with different aging temperatures (423, 443, and 463 K) for 2 h in 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution after homogenized for 2 h at 500 K at room temperature. Electrochemical measurements (OCP, Tafel, and EIS) were performed to determine the corrosion rate (C.R.) and corrosion current density (I_corr.) to find out corrosion behavior. In addition, microstructures of Al-10Zn and Al-10Zn-1CuO were observed using a scanning electron microscope, EDX mapping, and the optical microscope to investigate the effect of the nanoparticle's addition before and after aging and the corrosion test. The average crystal size and the dislocation density were calculated from the XRD pattern. The results show that the appropriate addition of CuO nanoparticles can refine the Al-10Zn alloy and shift the Al-10Zn alloy to a more noble direction.