Electrochemistry of Corrosion

Return to: Encyclopedia Home Page --- Table of Contents --- Author Index --- Subject Index ---
Search
--- Dictionary --- ESTIR Home Page --- YCES Home Page
Electrochemistry Encyclopedia
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/ed/encycl/)
ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF CORROSION
Jerome Kruger
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
(April, 2001)
Ulick R. Evans, the British scientist who is considered the "Father of Corrosion Science", has said that
"Corrosion is largely an electrochemical phenomenon, [which] may be defined as destruction by
electrochemical or chemical agencies...". Corrosion in an aqueous environment and in an atmospheric
environment (which also involves thin aqueous layers) is an electrochemical process because corrosion
involves the transfer of electrons between a metal surface and an aqueous electrolyte solution. It results
from the overwhelming tendency of metals to react electrochemically with oxygen, water, and other
substances in the aqueous environment. Fortunately, most useful metals react with the environment to
form more or less protective films of corrosion reaction products that prevent the metals from going into
solution as ions.
While the term corrosion has in recent years been applied to all kinds of materials in all kinds of
environments, this article will only consider the electrochemistry of corrosion of metals and alloys in
aqueous solutions at ambient temperatures. Electrochemical corrosion occurring under such conditions is
a major destructive process that results in such costly, unsightly, and destructive effects such as the
formation of rust and other corrosion products, the creation of the gaping holes or cracks in aircraft,
automobiles, boats, gutters, screens, plumbing and many other items constructed of every metal except
gold.
Systems such as boiling water nuclear reactors involving aqueous solutions are also examples of
electrochemical corrosion but will not be covered. This article will also not cover the
non-electrochemical process termed high temperature oxidation, a destructive process which is the
exposure of a metal or alloy to high temperatures in a gaseous environment (usually including oxygen or
gases with sulfur containing compounds) where much thicker layers of corrosion products are formed.
However, it must be pointed out that if the high temperature oxidation process results in the formation of
salt layers that melt at the high temperatures used, a difference in electrode potential between phases or
heterogeneities in an alloy can lead to hot corrosion which has electrochemical features similar to that of
Electrochemistry Encyclopedia --- Electrochemistry of corrosion
http://yces.cwru.edu/ed/encycl/art-c02-corrosion.htm (1 of 13) [10/6/2001 10:15:53 PM]
the condensed aqueous films involved in atmospheric corrosion. This technologically important
corrosion process leads to the failure of such applications as, for example, gas turbines, heat exchangers,
and many others that operate at high temperatures.
Consequences of corrosion
Corrosion has many serious economic, health, safety, technological, and cultural consequences to our
society.
Economic effects
Studies in a number of countries have attempted to determine the national cost of corrosion. The most
extensive of these studies was the one carried out in the United States in 1976 which found that the
overall annual cost of metallic corrosion to the U.S. economy was $70 billion, or 4.2% of the gross
national product. To get a feeling for the seriousness of this loss, we may compare it to another economic
impact everyone is worried about --- the importation of foreign crude oil, which cost $45 billion in 1977.
Health effects
Recent years have seen an increasing use of metal prosthetic devices in the body, such as pins, plates, hip
joints, pacemakers, and other implants. New alloys and better techniques of implantation have been
developed, but corrosion continues to create problems. Examples include failures through broken
connections in pacemakers, inflammation caused by corrosion products in the tissue around implants,
and fracture of weight-bearing prosthetic devices. The use of metallic hip joints, which can alleviate
some of the problems of arthritic hips. The situation has improved in recent years, so that hip joints
which were was at first limited to persons over 60 are now being used in younger persons, because they
will last longer.
Safety effects
An even more significant problem is corrosion of structures, which can result in severe injuries or even
loss of life. Safety is thereby compromised thereby contributing to failures of bridges, aircraft,
automobiles, gas pipelines etc. --- the whole complex of metal structures and devices that make up the
modern world.
Technological effects
The economic consequences of corrosion affect technology. A great deal of the development of new
technology is held back by corrosion problems because materials are required to withstand, in many
cases simultaneously, higher temperatures, higher pressures, and more highly corrosive environments.
Corrosion problems that are less difficult to solve affect solar energy systems, which require alloys to
withstand hot circulating heat transfer fluids for long periods of time, and geothermal systems, which
require materials to withstand highly concentrated solutions of corrosive salts at high temperatures and
pressures. Another example, the drilling for oil in the sea and on land involves overcoming such
corrosion problems as sulfide stress corrosion, microbiological corrosion, and the vast array of
difficulties involved in working in the highly corrosive marine environment. In many of these instances,
corrosion is a limiting factor preventing the development of economically or even technologically
workable systems.
Cultural effects
International concern was aroused by the disclosure of the serious deterioration of the artistically and
cu1tura1 significant gilded bronze statues in Venice, Italy. Corrosive processes will accelerate the
deterioration of precious artifacts such as those in Venice by the highly polluted environments that now
are prevalent in most of the countries of the world. Likewise, inside the world's museums conservators
and restorers labor to protect cultural treasures against the ravages of corrosion or to remove its traces
from artistically or culturally important artifacts.
Electrochemistry of corrosion
The same metallic surface exposed to an aqueous electrolyte usually possesses sites for an oxidation (or
anodic chemical reaction) that produces electrons in the metal, and a reduction (or cathodic reaction) that
consumes the electrons produced by the anodic reaction. These "sites" together make up a "corrosion
cell." The anodic reaction is the dissolution of the metal to form either soluble ionic products or an
insoluble compound of the metal, usually an oxide. Several cathodic reactions are possible depending on
what reducible species are present in the solution. Typical reactions are the reduction of dissolved
oxygen gas, or the reduction of the solvent (water) to produce hydrogen gas. Examples of these reactions
are given in the Appendix I. Because these anodic and cathodic reactions occur simultaneously on a
metal surface, they create an electrochemical cell of the type shown in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. The electrochemical cell set up between
anodic and cathodic sites on an iron surface
undergoing corrosion.
The sites where the anodic and cathodic
reactions take place, the anodes and the
cathodes of the corrosion cell, are
determined by many factors: (i) they are
not necessarily fixed in location; (ii) they
can be adjacent or widely separated so that,
for example, if two metals are in contact,
one metal can be the anode and the other
the cathode, leading to galvanic corrosion
of the more anodic metal; (iii) there can
exist variations over the surface of oxygen
concentration in the environment that
result in the establishment of an anode at
those sites exposed to the environment
containing the lower oxygen content ---
differential aeration corrosion; (iv) or
similarly, variations in the concentration of
metal ions or other species in the
environment, arising because of the spatial orientation of the corroding metal and gravity; or finally, (v)
variations in the homogeneity of the metal surface, due to the presence of inclusions, different phases,
grain boundaries, disturbed metal, and other causes, can lead to the establishment of anodic and cathodic
sites.
The process occurring at the anodic sites is the dissolution of metal as metallic ions in the electrolyte or
the conversion of these ions to insoluble corrosion products such as rust. This is the destructive process
called corrosion. The flow of electrons between the corroding anodes and the non-corroding cathodes
forms the corrosion current, the value of which is determined by the rate of production of electrons by
the anodic reaction and their consumption by the cathodic reaction. The rates of electron production and
consumption, of course, must be equal or a buildup of charge would occur.
Driving force, corrosion tendencies
A driving force is necessary for electrons to flow between the anodes and the cathodes. This driving
force is the difference in potential between the anodic and cathodic sites. This difference exists because
each oxidation or reduction reaction has associated with it a potential determined by the tendency for the
reaction to take place spontaneously. The potential is a measure of this tendency.
Electrochemical equilibria: oxidation and reduction
Since most corrosion reactions occurring in the presence of a liquid, such as water, are not chemical but
are electrochemical, the use of chemical equilibria is of minimal use for studying aqueous corrosion. A
useful way to study the relation of potential to corrosion is through the use of an electrochemical
equilibrium diagram-called the "Pourbaix Diagram" --- developed by M. Pourbaix which plots potential
versus pH, a parameter also of great importance to corrosion processes.
Fig. 2. The potential - pH (Pourbaix ) equilibrium
diagram for iron.
The simplified Pourbaix diagram for iron
is shown in Figure 2. The potential plotted
is that of iron as measured versus a
standard hydrogen reference electrode. The
Pourbaix diagram enables the
determination by means of potential and
pH measurements whether a metal surface
is in a region of immunity where the
tendency for corrosion is nil, in a region
where the tendency for corrosion is high,
or in a region where the tendency for
corrosion may still exist but where there is
also a tendency for a protective or passive
film to exist. Such a film can drastically
affect the rate of corrosion, and, in some
cases, practically stop it (see Passivity and
breakdown).Lines (a) and (b) on Figure 2
represent oxygen reduction ( Appendix I,
Equations [2] or [3]) and hydrogen
evolution ( Appendix I, Equation [4]),
respectively. They are a measure of the
concentration of oxygen or hydrogen in
solution and show the variation of potential with pH for solutions in equilibrium with 1 atmosphere of
either oxygen or hydrogen. Lines drawn parallel to (a), but lower, would give the variation of potential
with pH for a solution containing less oxygen than that represented by (a). Thus, the potential of a
specimen can give some indication of the oxygen concentration in the environment. The differences in
oxygen concentration between different sites on a metal lead to the differential aeration corrosion
mentioned above. By means of the Pourbaix diagram, through potential and pH measurements, some
idea can be gained about the tendency of a metal to be in an immune, passive or corroding regime and
also to estimate the influence of limited or ready access of oxygen on the corrosion process.
Kinetics, corrosion rates
While it is necessary to determine corrosion tendencies by measuring potentials, it will not be sufficient
to ascertain whether a given metal or alloy will suffer corrosion under a given set of environmental
conditions. Because even though the tendency for corrosion may be high, the rate of corrosion may be
very low, and thus corrosion may not be a problem.
Corrosion rates are determined by applying a current to produce a polarization curve (the degree of
potential change as a function of the amount of current applied) for the metal surface whose rate is being
determined. When the potential of the metal surface is polarized by the application of the current in a
positive direction, it is said to be anodically polarized; a negative direction signifies that it is cathodically
polarized. The degree of polarization is a measure of how the rates of the anodic and the cathodic
reactions are retarded by various environmental (concentration of metal ions, dissolved oxygen, etc. in
solution) and/or surface processes ( adsorption, film formation, ease of release of electrons, etc.) factors.
The former is called concentration polarization the latter activation polarization. The variation of
potential as a function of current (a polarization curve) allows one to study the effect of concentration
and activation processes on the rate at which anodic or cathodic reactions can give up or accept electrons.
Hence, polarization measurements can thereby determine the rate of the reactions that are involved in the
corrosion process --- the corrosion rate.
Figure 3 shows anodic and cathodic
polarization curves that represent anodic
reactions (like metal dissolution) or
cathodic reactions ( e.g., oxygen reduction
or hydrogen evolution). In Figure 3 the
potential (E) is plotted as a function of the
logarithm of the current density (i). When
the corrosion reactions are controlled by
activation polarization, as is frequently
observed, polarization behavior will be a
straight line on this plot following the
Tafel equation (see Appendix II). On this
figure, "E
0,a
" and "E
0,c
" are the
equilibrium potentials for the reactions
under consideration (anodic or cathodic).
Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of potential (E) versus
the logarithm current density (i) curves (polarization
curves) produced by making the metal surface
measured an anode and then a cathode. Two cathodic
reactions are shown, the one with the higher cathodic
exchange density, i
2o,c
giving the higher corrosion
current i
2corr
. The extrapolations of the anodic and
cathodic curves produce the Evans diagrams (see
Fig. 4).
The "Tafel lines" are characterized by the
"slope" of the linear part of the polarization
curve and by their "intercept" when
extrapolated to the equilibrium potential.
The "intercept" is proportional to log i
0
(the exchange current density that is
expressing the inherent rate of the
electrode reaction). The values of these
characteristic constants in the Tafel
equation depend on the metal and the
environment under consideration. It is
possible to extrapolate the anodic and
cathodic linear portions of the polarization
curves to the corrosion potential(E
corr
),
where, under ideal conditions, they should
intersect. The value of the current at their
intersection will be the rate of corrosion
(i
corr
) expressed in current density. The
values of the exchange current densities for
the cathodic and anodic reactions have a
profound effect on the corrosion rate. This
is illustrated with an example of using two
values of "i
o,c
" (but assuming, for sake of
simplicity, that "E
0,c
" is constant): the
larger the "i
o,c
" --- the larger the the
corrosion rate, "i
corr
" (see Figure 3).
Parts of the extrapolations shown in Figure
3 produce the diagrams (Evans diagrams)
shown in Figure 4. The relative values of
the "slopes" of the anodic or cathodic
polarization curves, determine whether the anodic, cathodic, or both reactions control the rate of the
corrosion process. Evans diagrams are used extensively by corrosion scientists and engineers to evaluate
the effect of various factors on corrosion rates.
Passivity and the breakdown of passivity
Since both driving force (corrosion-tendency) and kinetic (corrosion-rate) considerations are crucial in
determining the extent of corrosion of a metal surface, a crucial factor controlling the rate is the existence
of the phenomenon of passivity for certain metals and alloys, such as stainless steels and titanium.
Considerable controversy exists resulting from many studies whose objective was to develop a better
understanding of the what process is responsible for the existence of the phenomenon of passivity. For
the purposes of this discussion it is sufficient to characterize passivity as the conditions existing on a
metal surface because of the presence of a protective film-whose nature is the source of the controversy
--- that markedly lowers the rate of corrosion, even though from driving force (corrosion tendency)
Fig. 4. Evans diagrams (produced from the
extrapolation shown in Fig. 3, illustrating three main
ways in which the corrosion rate can be mainly
controlled: (a) control by the reactions on the anode;
(b) control by the reactions on the cathode; and (c)
control by a mixture of both.
considerations, active corrosion is
expected.
To be effective a passive film must provide
a protective barrier that keeps the corrosion
current on a metallic surface at a low
enough value so that the extent of
corrosion damage is minimized. An
effective film is one that resists the
breaching (called the breakdown) of the
passive film. Breakdown processes lead to
the forms of localized corrosion that are
some of the major sources of corrosion
failures, pitting, crevice, intergranular, and
stress corrosion. They cause the disruption
of the passive film and thus expose discrete
bare sites on the metal surface to an
environment where the tendency for attack
is very high. The many mechanisms
proposed for chemical breakdown are
based on two models, each having many
variations. They are (i) Adsorbed Ion
Displacement Models and (ii) Ion
Migration or Penetration Models. Two
types of breakdown processes exist:
electrochemical breakdown where many
studies have found that breakdown takes
place at a potential above a specific
"breakdown potential" and mechanical
breakdown which occurs when the passive film is ruptured as a result of stress or abrasive wear. It should
be noted that all of the breakdown mechanisms involve a damaging species. Unfortunately, one of the
major species causing breakdown of passivity is the chloride ion, a damaging species abundantly
available in nature.
Competing with the passive film breakdown process, is the passive film repassivation process. Thus, an
effective alloy for resisting localized corrosion would be one whose surface not only forms a passive film
that resists the process leading to breakdown but also is capable of repassivating at a rate sufficiently
high so that once breakdown has occurred, exposure to a corrosive environment is minimal.
Types of corrosion
The breakdown and repair of passivity process just described is involved in many but not all of the
various types of corrosion.
Pitting corrosion
The initiation of a pit occurs when electrochemical or chemical breakdown exposes a small local site on
a metal surface to damaging species such as chloride ions. The sites where pits initiate are not completely
understood, but some possibilities are at scratches, surface compositional heterogeneities (inclusions), or
places where environmental variations exist. The pit grows if the high current density --- the area of
breakdown initiation is exceedingly small --- involved in the repassivation process does not prevent the
formation of a large local concentration of metal ions produced by dissolution at the point of initiation. If
the rate of repassivation is not sufficient to choke off the pit growth, two new conditions develop. First,
the metal ions produced by the breakdown process are precipitated as solid corrosion products (such as
the Fe(OH)
2
, Appendix I, Equation [7]) which usually cover the mouth of the pit. This covering over of
the pit restricts the entry or exit of ions in or out of the pit and allows the buildup of hydrogen ions
through a hydrolysis reaction ( Appendix I, Equation [5]). Because a diffusion of these ions becomes
necessary to maintain charge neutrality in the pit, the chloride or another damaging ion concentration
increases. The solution in the pit becomes highly acidic, contains a large concentration of damaging ions
and metallic ions, and a low oxygen concentration thus causing the repassivation to become considerably
difficult. Thereby the rate of pit growth accelerates.
The pit is the anode of an electrochemical corrosion cell, and the cathode of the cell is the non-pitted
surface. Since the surface area of the pit is a very small fraction of the cathodic surface area, all of the
anodic corrosion current flows to the extremely small surface area of the breakdown initiation site. Thus,
the anodic current density becomes very high, and penetration of a metal structure bearing only a few pits
can be rapid.
Crevice corrosion
Crevice corrosion results when a portion of a metal surface is shielded in such a way that the shielded
portion has limited access to the surrounding environment. Such surrounding environments contain
damaging corrosion species, usually chloride ions. A typical example of crevice corrosion is the crevice
formed at the area between two metal surfaces in close contact with a gasket or another metal surface.
The environment that eventually forms in the crevice is similar to that formed under the precipitated
corrosion product that covers a pit (Figure 5.) Similarly, an electrochemical corrosion cell is formed from
the couple between the unshielded surface and the crevice interior exposed to an environment with a
lower oxygen concentration compared with the surrounding medium. This combination of being the
anode of a corrosion cell and existing in an acidic, high chloride environment where repassivation is
difficult makes the crevice interior subject to corrosive attack.
Stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen damage, and corrosion fatigue
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a form of localized corrosion which produces cracks in metals by the
simultaneous action of a corrodent and tensile stress. The electrochemical cell between the exterior and
the interior environments of a crack is similar to that described above for a crevice. Because of the
necessity for the application of stress, the breakdown of the passive layer on a metal surface in SCC is
generally ascribed to mechanical causes but many suggest that electrochemistry is a significant factor
because it controls the rate of repair of the passive layer ruptured by mechanical stress.
Fig. 5. An idealized picture of the environment that
develops in a crevice by the corrosion cell produced
on iron by an anode in a crevice and a cathode
outside of the crevice.
Corrosion fatigue has a somewhat similar
mode of failure to SCC. It mainly differs
from SCC in that it involves situations
where the stress is applied cyclically rather
than as a static sustained tensile stress.
With both corrosion fatigue and SCC, the
issues of film mechanical breakdown,
repassivation, adsorption of damaging
species, hydrogen embrittlement, and
electrochemical dissolution are to greater
or lesser extents involved in determining
susceptibility.
Intergranular corrosion
With the exception of metallic glasses, the
metals used in practical devices are made
up of small crystals (grains) whose
surfaces join the surfaces of other grains to
form grain boundaries. Such boundaries or
the small regions adjacent to these
boundaries can under certain conditions be
considerably more reactive (by being more anodic) than the interior of the grains. The resulting corrosion
is called intergranular corrosion. It can result in a loss of strength of metal part or the production of
debris (grains that have fallen out).
Uniform corrosion
Uniform corrosion results from the sites, not necessarily fixed in location, that are distributed over a
metal surface where the anodic and cathodic reactions take place. Uniform corrosion damage, sometimes
called wastage, is usually manifested in the progressive thinning of a metal part until it virtually dissolves
away or becomes a delicate lace-like structure.
Galvanic corrosion
Two metals having different potentials in a conducting electrolyte result in the more anodic metal usually
being attacked by galvanic corrosion. Because of electrical contact between two different metals,
galvanic corrosion differs from the other forms of corrosion described previously in that the anodic and
cathodic sites of the corrosion cell reside separately on the two coupled different metals comprising the
corrosion cell, while for the other forms of corrosion, the cathodes and anodes exist on the surface of the
same metal.
The value for the differences in potential between two dissimilar metals is usually obtained from a listing
of the standard equilibrium potentials for the various metals (for reactions of the type given in Appendix
I, Equation [1]). However, since the standard potentials assume bare metal surfaces in a standard solution
containing their ions at unit activity, while in practice metals invariably have films on their surfaces and
are exposed to nonstandard environments, these potentials are not always reliable guides to the corrosion
tendencies of the anodic member of a corrosion cell produced by two coupled dissimilar metals. Another
factor besides the coupling of two different metals that can lead to galvanic corrosion is a difference in
temperature at separated sites on the same metal surface. Such a situation leads to thermogalvanic
corrosion. This kind of corrosion can be encountered in heat exchanger systems where temperature
differences are common.
Selective leaching
When one component of an alloy is removed selectively by corrosion because there exist differences in
potential between different constituents of an alloy --- a situation analogous to that of the galvanic
corrosion of coupled dissimilar metals. This results in an increase in the concentration of the remaining
components and selective leaching occurs. This type of corrosion is also called parting and, after the
most common example, the selective leaching out of zinc from brass, dezincification.
Erosion corrosion
Erosion corrosion result from the disruption of protective passive films by erosive or abrasive processes.
Once the protective or passive film is removed in an aqueous electrolyte, the electrochemical processes
for the types of corrosion described above take place.
Corrosion prevention
The types of electrochemical corrosion just described can be prevented or controlled by utilizing the
current understanding of the principles underlying corrosion processes. This understanding has been the
basis for the development of a number of corrosion prevention measures.
Three corrosion control measures are based
on electrochemical driving force as shown
in the Pourbaix diagram given in Figure 6:
(i) Cathodic protection, proposed to the
British Admiralty for corrosion protection
of copper-sheathed ships by Sir Humphry
Davy in 1824 --- provides corrosion
control by making the structure to be
protected the cathode of a corrosion cell by
bringing the potential of the structure into
or near the immunity region of the
Pourbaix diagram; (ii) Anodic protection
makes the structure to be protected an
anode and an applied current brings the
structure's potential into the passivity
region of the Pourbaix diagram; and (iii)
Environment modification by changing the
pH to bring the structure to be protected
Fig. 6. Pourbaix diagram for iron showing how
corrosion protection can be achieved by using
measures that bring a corroding system into either
the immunity or the passivity region.
into either the immunity or passivation
regions.
Other measures used to control
electrochemical corrosion processes are the
following: (i) Corrosion resistant alloys
alloys are developed to be corrosion
resistant and contain constituents such as
chromium, which produce more effective
protective films that resist breakdown and
repassivate rapidly. (ii) Coatings are an
artificial barrier to the corrosive
environment on a metal surface as
contrasted to the naturally formed barrier
that a corrosion resistant alloy provides.
The most widely used organic coatings are
paints. Other organic coatings include
lacquers, waxes, and greases. Some
metallic coatings such as chrome plate
provide a protective barrier because they
are more corrosion resistant than the
metals they protect. Zinc coatings,
however, act in the opposite manner. This
coating, because it has a greater tendency
to corrode than the metal to which it is
applied, cathodically protects it. Finally, ceramic coatings such as porcelain enamels and glasses are used
to protect metal surfaces by providing chemically resistant barriers, usually oxides, which are more stable
than metals. (iii) Corrosion inhibitors are added to the environment in which a given metal must be used
to make the environment less corrosive. The inhibitors act either by adsorbing on metal surfaces by
providing barriers to the environment or by keeping the environment from becoming more corrosive by
providing a buffering action.
Appendix I
Some examples of the anodic and cathodic reactions that occur simultaneously on a metal surface in a
"corrosion cell" are as follows.
A typical anodic oxidation that produces dissolved ionic product, for example for iron metal is:
[1] Fe ==> Fe
2+
+ 2e
-
Examples of cathodic reductions involved in corrosion process are:
[2] O
2
+ 2H
2
O + 4e
-
==> 4OH
-
[3] O
2
+ 4H
+
+ 4e
-
==> 2H
2
O
[4] 2H
+
+ 2e
-
==> H
2
The cathodic reaction represented by Equation [2] exemplifies corrosion in natural environments where
corrosion occurs at nearly neutral pH values. Equations [3] and [4] represent corrosion processes taking
place in the acidic environments encountered in industrial processes or for the confined volumes (pits,
crevices) where the pH can reach acidic values because of hydrolysis reactions such as:
[5] Fe
2+
+ 2H
2
O ==> Fe(OH)
2
+ 2H
+
This reaction produces H
+
ions, the concentration of which can become large because the H
+
ions cannot
readily move out from the confined volumes. The overall corrosion reaction is , of course, the sum of the
cathodic and anodic partial reactions, For example, for a reaction producing dissolved ions (sum of
reactions [1] and [4]):
[6] Fe + 2H
+
==> Fe
2+
+ H
2
or, for a reaction producing insoluble hydroxide (sum of reactions [1] and [2]):
[7] 2Fe + O
2
+ 2H
2
O ==> 2Fe(OH)
2
Appendix II
The Tafel equation is an early (1905) empirical relation between the overpotential of the electrode and
the current density passing through the electrode:
"a" and "b" are characteristic constants of the electrode system. A plot of electrode potential versus the
logarithm of current density is called the "Tafel plot" and the resulting straight line the "Tafel line." "b" is
the "Tafel slope" that provides information about the mechanism of the reaction, and "a," the intercept,
provides information about the rate constant (and the exchange current density) of the reaction.
Bibliography
Principles and Prevention of Corrosion, (2
nd
edition) D. A. Jones, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River NJ, 1996.
G
Corrosion, (two volumes) L. L. Shreir, R. A. Jarman, and G. T. Burstein (editors),
Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, Boston, 1994.
G
Advances in Localized Corrosion: NACE-9, H. S. Isaacs, U. Bertocci, J. Kruger, and S.
Smialowska (editors), National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston TX, 1990.
G
Passivity of Metals --- a Materials Science Perspective, J. Kruger, "International Materials
Reviews," Vol. 33, pp 113-129, 1988.
G
Corrosion Engineering, (second edition) M. G. Fontana, McGraw-Hill, New York NY, 1986. G
Corrosion and Corrosion Control: An Introduction to Corrosion Science and Engineering, (third
edition) H. H. Uhlig and R. W. Revie, Wiley, New York NY, 1985.
G
Basic Corrosion and Oxidation, J. M. West, Ellis Horwood, Chichester UK, 1980. G
Passivity of Metals, R. P. Frankenthal and J. Kruger (editors), The Electrochemical Society,
Pennington NJ, 1978.
G
Atlas of Electrochemical Equilibria in Aqueous Solutions, (2
nd
edition) M. Pourbaix, National
Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston TX, 1974.
G
The Encyclopedia is hosted by the Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences (YCES) and
the Chemical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland, Ohio. Copyright
Notice.
Edited by Zoltan Nagy. E-mail: nagy@anl.gov
Return to: Top --- Encyclopedia Home Page --- Table of Contents --- Author Index --- Subject Index ---
Search --- Dictionary --- ESTIR Home Page --- YCES Home Page
http://yces.cwru.edu/ed/encycl/fig/c02/c02-f01b.gif
http://yces.cwru.edu/ed/encycl/fig/c02/c02-f01b.gif [10/6/2001 10:16:11 PM]

Electrochemistry of Corrosion

Încărcat de

Informații document

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Electrochemistry of Corrosion

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Return to: Encyclopedia Home Page --- Table of Contents --- Author Index --- Subject Index ---

S-ar putea să vă placă și