Surface chemistry of galvanized steel sheets relevant to adhesion performance

A review is presented on the recent development of surface treatment technologies for hot-dip galvanized steels relevant to adhesion of organic coatings. Applications of surface analytical techniques have elucidated that the surface layers of the nanometer scale dramatically govern the adhesion performance of painting or adhesive bonding. Surface enrichment of aluminium in the zinc layer deteriorates paint adhesion due to the reduction in phosphatability on the galvanized steel sheets and decreases the adhesive strength of the epoxy/dicyandiamide-bonded sheets due to the loss of acid-base interaction at the adhesive-substrate interface. In addition, the co-segregation of Al and Pb into the surface layer is responsible for the intergranular corrosion of zinc and facilitates the formation of a weak boundary layer, resulting in poor bond durability in a wet atmosphere. Improved adhesion performance has been established by developing new technologies that reduce the surface enrichment of minor elements or impurities in the zinc layer on the galvanizing line or that adopt a surface conditioning process prior to pretreatment in subsequent coil coating lines.