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Luigi Galvani, an Italian who lived between 1737 and 1798, became a professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna in 1775. During his research, while experimenting on the nervous and muscular system of a frog, he saw that the frog moved when a metal chisel touched a lifeless frog. At that moment, he discovered the electrochemical connection created by metal on living things. He concentrated on this idea. He compiled and published his research on this subject in 1791. This research caused great controversy in the scientific world. Volta put forward an opinion against this finding. He thought that it was caused by a metallic arc. As a result of these discussions, the feasibility of electrotherapy by giving direct current to living things began to be investigated.
Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) was very impressed by Galvani's ideas and works. He developed the idea that different metals could have electrical relationships and energy could be produced from this relationship. He worked intensively in this direction. As a result of his studies, he discovered the energy resulting from the electrical relationship of copper and zinc and continued his work to convert it into stored energy (a battery). And in 1799, Volta's galvanic-based batteries were accepted by the Royal Institute.
Based on Volta's experiences, Humphry Davy (1778-1829) began to work on the reactions and results of different metals with different chemical properties. Volta basically concentrated on the energy emerging from the contacts of different metals. However, the combination of two different metals created a chemical reaction. And this reaction caused a type of electroplating. As a result of experiments, Davy produced potassium with platinum cathode galvanic batteries. This led him to the idea that one metal could be coated with another.
Michael Faraday, another British Chemist who worked with Humphry Davy, observed in his experiments in 1813 that the direct current formed by the reactions of bulk metals follows a path to chemical electrolysis and established the scientific basis for this. This law is known as Faraday's Law of Electrolysis. And the corrosion and density loss of different metals (ASTM G102) is still done in the light of this information.
The first recorded official zinc plating experiment by immersing iron in a molten zinc furnace was carried out by the French chemist P. J. Malouin in 1742 and presented to the French Royal Academy.
In 1836, another French chemist, Stanilaus Tranquille Modeste Sorel, patented the methods of iron plating through zinc, cleaning with 9% sulfuric acid and surface preparation with ammonium chloride. A year later, in 1837, the British Patent Institute approved this method. In 1850, the British galvanizing industry carried out galvanization of 10,000 tons per year.
Areas of Use of Galvanized Metals
When galvanization was first introduced, it was used to protect large steel structures against corrosion. Steels made especially in hard-to-reach places began to be used in power transmission lines with the advantage of pre-assembly coating and long service life against the easy rusting feature of steel. Over time, as the use of steel in the world increased thanks to technological advances and the easy machinability of steel, galvanizing also increased in parallel.
The increase in steel production before the hot war years led to the development of the defense industry. The ever-increasing capacity increased in connection with different sectors. The USA and many developed European countries realized the industrial revolution primarily with steel.
Today, there are magnificent examples of steel structures from those years in Europe. And of course, almost all of these steels are galvanized.
For approximately 150 years, all kinds of steel whose composition is suitable for galvanization have been increasingly galvanized. Today, galvanization has become indispensable for many sectors.