As can be seen in Fig. 3, two different regions were observedin the Zn 2p and P 2p regions. The deconvolution of Zn 2p region resulted in understanding of the presence of Zn3(PO4)2 and Zn(OH)2/ZnO components at biding energies of 1023.21 and 1022.17 eV, respectively [19]. It is clear that the peak intensity related to Zn3(PO4)2 component is much higher than Zn(OH)2/ZnO. Phosphate components having PO43−and HPO42−groups are detected at binding energies of 132.6 and 133.58 eV, respectively.All of these observations show the presence of hopeite phase onthe steel surface. Also, three different zones are observed in the C1s region. The binding energies for the peaks have been referenced to C–C bond at 285 eV and C–O at 286.51 eV [42]. This can show the presence of PVA in the zinc phosphate layer deposited on the steel surface.