Sheet, strip, or other steel item coated with a thin layer of zinc for corrosion resistance. Thickness of the zinc layer determines the length of resistance period. Galvanized steel has gone through a chemical process to keep it from corroding. The steel gets coated in layers of zinc because rust won’t attack this protective metal. For countless outdoor, marine, or industrial applications, galvanized steel is an essential fabrication component.

Galvanized steel has gone through a chemical process to keep it from corroding

Zinc coatings prevent corrosion of the protected metal by forming a physical barrier, and by acting as a sacrificial anode if this barrier is damaged. When exposed to the atmosphere, zinc reacts with oxygen to form zinc oxide, which further reacts with water molecules in the air to form zinc hydroxide. Finally zinc hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to yield a thin, impermeable, tenacious and quite insoluble dull gray layer of zinc carbonate which adheres extremely well to the underlying zinc, so protecting it from further corrosion, in a way similar to the protection afforded to aluminium and stainless steels by their oxide layers.

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