Synergism of Saccharum officinarum and Ananas comosus extract additives on the quality of electroplated zinc on mild steel

Synergism of Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane) and Ananas comosus (pineapple) extract additives on the quality of electroplated zinc on mild steel in acid chloride solution was investigated experimentally at ambient temperature (~28 °C). The experiments were performed at different plating times (15 and 18 min), additive concentrations (2, 2.5, 3 ml/50 ml of acid chloride solution), pH 5, temperature (27–30 °C), current (0.08 A), and voltage (13 V DC) conditions. Zinc electroplating on mild steel was performed using a DC-supply. The surface of the plated steel was examined with scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy for surface elemental composition analysis. Different surface characteristics were obtained depending upon the concentration of the additive and the plating time. The corrosion resistance of the plated surface was determined by a gravimetric method. Microstructural morphology of the plated surface indicated a good quality electroplating that was better than either the sugarcane or pineapple extracts alone. The electroplating process was sensitive to changes in additive concentration and plating time. Any variation in the plating parameter produced an entirely new and different surface crystal morphology.