Plated steel material and photovoltaic power generation stand

A plated steel material comprising:

• a steel sheet;
• a plated layer formed on the steel sheet;
• and
• an oxide layer formed on the plated layer,
• wherein the plated layer has a chemical composition comprising, by mass %,
• 1.0 to 60.0% of Al,
• 1.0 to 15.0% of Mg,
• 0 to 2.0% of Si,
• 0 to 2.0% of Ca, and
• 0 to 2.0% of Fe,
• and wherein the plated layer optionally contains one or more of:
• 0 to 1.000% of Ni,
• 0 to 0.500% of La,
• 0 to 0.500% of Ce,
• 0 to 0.500% of Sb,
• 0 to 0.500% of Pb,
• 0 to 0.500% of Sr,
• 0 to 0.500% of Bi,
• 0 to 1.000% of Sn,
• 0 to 1.000% of Cu,
• 0 to 1.000% of Ti,
• 0 to 1.000% of Mn,
• 0 to 1.000% of Cr,
• 0 to 1.000% of Nb,
• 0 to 1.000% of Zr,
• 0 to 1.000% of Mo,
• 0 to 1.000% of V,
• 0 to 1.000% of In,
• 0 to 1.000% of Co,
• 0 to 1.000% of Ag,
• 0 to 1.000% of Li,
• 0 to 0.500% of B,
• 0 to 0.500% of Y, and
• 0 to 0.500% of P, and
• a remainder being of Zn and impurities,
• wherein a total content of Ni, La, Ce, Sb, Pb, Sr, Bi, Sn, Cu, Ti, Mn, Cr, Nb, Zr, Mo, V, In, Co, Ag, Li, B, Y, and P in the plated layer is in a range of 0% to 5.000%,
• the oxide layer has a thickness of 5 nm or more, and
• a (Al+Mg)/Zn intensity ratio of the oxide layer, defined as a ratio of a sum of a maximum intensity of Al, in cps, in the oxide layer and a maximum intensity of Mg, in cps, in the oxide layer to a maximum intensity of Zn, in cps, in the oxide layer is 1.0 or more, wherein the maximum intensity of Al, the maximum intensity of Mg, and the maximum intensity of Zn are each obtained from energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis of the oxide layer, and
• the oxide layer includes an amorphous microstructure,
• wherein the (Al+Mg)/Zn intensity ratio of the oxide layer is calculated by a method comprising:
• obtaining a 10 μm square sample from the plated steel material, the sample including a cross section of the oxide layer along a sheet thickness direction;
• observing the sample with a transmission-type electron microscope (TEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer at a probe diameter of an electron beam of 3 nm and an irradiation current of 1.0 nA;
• performing the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis at five points every 2 μm in a direction along the sheet surface;
• determining the maximum intensity of Zn, the maximum intensity of Al, and the maximum intensity of Mg based on energy-dispersive X-ray analysis results;
• calculating a ratio of a total of the maximum intensity of Al and the maximum intensity of Mg to the maximum intensity of Zn, wherein intensity ratios are determined at each of the five points, and an average thereof is defined as the (Al+Mg)/Zn intensity ratio of the oxide layer;
• wherein the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis is performed under the following conditions:
• an observation position by TEM is a ½ thickness position in the cross section of the oxide layer;
• an acceleration voltage at a time of observation is 200 kV;
• and
• an electron beam irradiation time lasts until a maximum peak intensity in a spectrum obtained by the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis becomes 2000 counts or more.