About phosphating

Phosphating principally involves the protection of

ferrous metals (steel alloys and cast iron).
Treatment is applied for four main reasons:

To improve corrosion resistance

To offer improved anchorage for wax, oil, paint,
laccar, rubber, Teflon, polymers, etc.
To facilitate cold extrusion or other mechanical
working.
To provide the treated parts with
wear resistance and anti-seizing characteristics.

Phosphating is a surface conversion process (1).

The use of products for the activation (2) and

acceleration (3) of phosphating baths is essential to
ensure the correct morphology (4) of the crystalline
layers and fast reaction times.

The total thickness of the surfacing is measured in

microns or in grams per square metre (g/m2).

Our main phosphating treatments are:

Zinc phosphating
Manganese phosphating
Phosphating for paint priming

Hystorical background

The history of phosphate surface treatments is

relatively short.
In 1906 T.W. Coslett laid down the basis for
modern phosphating.
In 1911 important improvements were made
by R.G. Richards with the introduction of the
diacidic manganese phosphatic treatment.
Phosphating methodology was further improved
in 1916 by the American W.H. Allen with his
systems adopted by the ‘Parker Rust Proof
Comp.’
In 1929 ‘Digofat‘ was created in Russia,
and Parker and Metallgesellschaft of Frankfurt
introduced bonderizing.
In 1934 a phosphatic-electrolytic methodology
was proposed, called ‘electrogranodizing‘ by the
‘Am. Chemical Paint Co.’, based on the work
of J. H. Gravell.
The use of accelerating agents further contributed
to the development of phosphating, making it
practicable for industrial applications
Conversion(1)

This term has particular importance when talking

about the chemistry of surface treatments.
Some modern industrial processes aimed at
improving the corrosion resistance of highly
oxidable
materials like raw steel, are based on the ‘surface
conversion’ of the same.
The chemical process aims to ‘convert the surface’
making it chemically more inert (metastable)
and therefore more resistant to chemical-physical
attack.

In the case of phosphating steel, the transformation

comes about in a series of stages.
Initially there is the corrosion of the base material as
a result of contact with solutions containing
phosphoric acid.
This corrosion depends on the co-ordinates of the
metal surface (topo-chemical).
Micro-cathodic and micro-anodic areas are created
permitting the dissolution of the metal.
The overall reaction is:
Me° + 2H+ ——————-> Me++ + H2
In the subsequent stages and in suitable conditions
there is the formation of a neutral insoluble
phosphatic deposit in crystalline form on the surface
of the metal, replacing the corroded layer and
providing additional protection.
The number of chemical and crystallographic forms
present in a phosphatic layer is extremely high.
The most important are:
hopeite : Zn3(PO4)2 .4 H2O
fosfofillite:Zn2(Fe,Mn)(PO4)2.4H2O
hureaulite: (Mn, Fe)5H2(PO4)4.4H2O
Accelerating agents
The accelerating agent in phosphating processes is
generally a mineral based oxidising element which
speeds up the conversion process. Chemically this
element depolarises the metallic surface in the micro-
cathodic zone and oxidises the metals dissolved in
the micro-anodic area, permitting the precipitation of
phosphatic slime.
The speed of a production process is undoubtedly of
considerable importance

Activation(2)

The word ‘activation’ in its chemical sense means a

process that acts on the molecules of a system to
make them react differently and in a reduced time.
In phosphating ‘activate’ means conditioning the
metal surface to be treated in order to increase the
number of crystallisation centres (nuclei).
Increasing the crystallisation nuclei increases the
number of crystals while reducing the dimensions
and weight of the same in the phosphatic layer.
The result is the rapid creation of a thin
microcrystalline layer that satisfies the requirements
of the phosphating procedure.

Accelerating agents(3)
The accelerating agent in phosphating processes is
generally a mineral based oxidizing element which
speeds up the conversion process. Chemically this
element depolarizes the metallic surface in the
micro-cathodic zone and oxidizes the metals
dissolved in the micro-anodic area, permitting the
precipitation of phosphatic slime.
The speed of a production process is undoubtedly of
considerable importance

Morphology(4)

This term is used in the phosphating sector to define

the appearance, form, and orientation of the crystals
that make up the conversion surface.
A well oriented and ordered microcrystalline
‘morphology ‘ is a good index of quality.
The morphology of the phosphatic layer is checked
using a scanning electron microscope (S.E.M.).