LAUSR

This study aims to mitigate the hydrogen embrittlement risk of marine high‐strength steel associated with cathodic protection anodes possessing negative working potentials. To achieve this, alloying elements with higher electrochemical potentials, specifically Ga, Sn, Sb, and Pb, are selected and incorporated into the Zn–Mn alloy to enhance its overall working potential. The addition of these elements to the Zn matrix results in the precipitation of secondary phases exhibiting potentials of 190–280 mV higher than that of the Zn matrix. The potential differences between these secondary phases and the matrix increase monotonically with the working potential of the Zn anodes. Furthermore, the incorporation of Sn, Sb, and Pb leads to a reduction in the current efficiency of the Zn alloys, dropping below 95.5%. This decline is attributed to the substantial volume and coarse morphology of the secondary phases, as well as the pronounced elemental segregation. In contrast, the inclusion of Ga refines the secondary phases, thereby preventing significant element segregation. Consequently, the Zn–Mn–Ga alloy demonstrates superior performance, exhibiting a current efficiency exceeding 98%, along with a working potential range between −0.93 and −0.82 V, which satisfies the cathodic protection potential requirements for high‐strength steel.