Influences of zinc oxide and an organic additive on the electrochemical behavior of pure aluminum in an alkaline solution

The corrosion behavior of pure aluminum in inhibited and uninhibited 4 M KOH was investigated by means of hydrogen collection, polarization curve measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the corrosion of pure aluminum was greatly inhibited by the addition of ZnO and dimethyl amine epoxy propane (designated as DE). EIS and EDAX analyses revealed that ZnO produces its effect by depositing on the aluminum surface, which increases the overpotential of hydrogen evolution. It was also found that the addition of DE could greatly improve the deposition of zinc layers.