The major uses of zinc metal are in galvanizing iron and steel against corrosion and in making brasses and alloys for die-casting. Zinc itself forms an impervious coating of its oxide on exposure to the atmosphere, and hence the metal is more resistant to ordinary atmospheres than iron and corrodes at a much lower rate. In addition, because zinc tends to oxidize in preference to iron, some protection is afforded the steel surface even if some of it is exposed through cracks. The zinc coating is formed either by hot-dip galvanizing or electrogalvanizing.
Zinc is currently the fourth most widely consumed metal in the world after iron, aluminum, and copper. It has strong anticorrosive properties and bonds well with other metals. Consequently, about one-half of the zinc that is produced is used in zinc galvanizing, which is the process of adding thin layers of zinc to iron or steel to prevent rusting.
