ELECTROCHEMCAL

TECHNQUES FOR
CORROSON STUDES
Prepared by:
lelix .3. Parmar
Roll no :933
0uided by:
Ur.v.v.Mathne
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Corroslon ls an elecLrochemlcal (redox*) process lnvolvlng
e|ectron transfer
le le
2+
+ 2e

*redox reducLlonoxldaLlon
broad range of elecLrochemlcal Lechnlques have been
developed speclflcally for corroslon measuremenL
LlecLrochemlcal Lechnlques are fasL
LlecLrochemlcal Lechnlques are senslLlve
Can be used ln Lhe lab or ln Lhe fleld
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LlecLrochemlsLry ls slmple ln prlnclpalLhere are only Lhree varlables poLenLlal (L)
currenL (l) and Llme
cLlve LxperlmenLs" pply an exclLaLlon measure a response Make someLhlng
happen!
oLenLlosLaLlc ConLrol L Measure l loL L vs l or l vs L
CalvanosLaLlc ConLrol l Measure L loL l vs L or L vs L
asslve LxperlmenLs" Cbserve Lhe experlmenL elecLrochemlcally
oLenLlomeLrlc Measure L aL l0 (for example a pP MeLer)
Zero 8eslsLance mmeLer (Z8) Measure l beLween Lwo connecLed elecLrodes
Lxamples galvanlc corroslon and elecLrochemlcal nolse
cLlve experlmenLs glve fasLer resulLs buL rlsk changlng Lhe sample
olarlzaLlon 8eslsLance ls an acLlve experlmenL
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"uantitative Corrosion Rate Measurements (for uniform oorrosion only)
"ualitative lndioation of Passivation 1endenoies
"ualitative Pitting and Crevioe Corrosion 3tudies
0alvanio Corrosion
lntergranular Corrosion (3ensitization)
3tress Corrosion Craoking (the sample is under load during the test)
Lvaluation of 0rganio Coatings with Ll3
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Potentiostats
Best ohoise for oorrosion measurements beoause of its low noise
0amry potentiostats
Multiple potentiostat system
Multi ohannel system for performing simultaneous experiments
Lleotroohemioal oells
3ample whose oorrosion oharaoteristiosyou wish to study,must be mounted
on eleotroohemioal oell and oonneoted to the potentiostats.
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Corroslon MeasuremenL SysLem conslsLs of a poLenLlosLaL sofLware a
compuLer and a cell
nalog (noncompuLerlzed) sysLems are noL recommended for corroslon
experlmenLs
1he corrodlng sample ls placed ln a LlecLrochemlcal Cell and connecLed Lo Lhe
oLenLlosLaL
oLenLlosLaL
1he oLenLlosLaL ls Lhe elecLronlc lnsLrumenL LhaL conLrols poLenLlal or currenL
and measures currenL or poLenLlal respecLlvely
1he performance of a poLenLlosLaL are affecLed by Lhe elecLrlcal characLerlsLlcs
of Lhe Worklng LlecLrode
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Worklng LlecLrode Corroslon sample belng sLudled
8eference LlecLrode SaLuraLed Calomel (SCL) or SllverSllver Chlorlde
(g/gCl) CLhers are avallable (Cu/CuSC
4
)
CounLer LlecLrode Should be conducLlve and lnerL (CraphlLe or
laLlnum)
SoluLlon may be sLlrred and deaeraLed Lo remove C
2

1emperaLure conLrol ls encouraged! 8aLes of chemlcal reacLlons are

very LemperaLure dependenL!
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Speclmen surface ls assumed as elLher anode or caLhodeLhls can lead us Lo
Lhe wrong resulLs
1afel reglon musL be exLended over conslderable currenL range for accuraLe
exLrapolaLlon
Several hours requlred for each polarlzaLlon curve
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Measure L
CC
and allow Lo sLablllze
2 pply lnlLlal L LhaL ls 0 mv negaLlve of L
CC

3 Scan aL a slow scan raLe (023 mv/s) Lo a flnal L LhaL ls 0 mv poslLlve of

L
CC

4 Measure currenL ploL L (?axls) versus l (xaxls)

3 Measure slope whlch has unlLs of reslsLance (L/l 8)
6 ConverL 8
p
Lo l
corr
7 ConverL l
corr
Lo Corroslon 8aLe
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1he purpose of Lhe olarlzaLlon 8eslsLance experlmenL ls Lo deLermlne Lhe
olarlzaLlon 8eslsLance (8p)
1he SLernCeary LquaLlon descrlbes Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe olarlzaLlon
8eslsLance (8p) and Lhe Corroslon CurrenL (l
CC88
)
8

L/l
a

c
/23 l
CC88
(
a
+
c
)
1he SLernCeary LquaLlon ls derlved from Lhe 8uLlervolmer LquaLlon vla a
serles expanslon ln whlch AL/
ac
ls assumed Lo be less Lhan 0
1herefore ln olarlzaLlon 8eslsLance Lhe applled poLenLlal should be wlLhln 3
0 mv of L
oc
1he ploL of poLenLlal vs currenL ls approxlmaLely llnear ln Lhls reglon
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very fasL ( 3 mlnuLes) Scannlng 20 mv aL 0 mv/sec requlres 200 seconds
ln general ploLs exhlblL good llnearlLy so daLa lnLerpreLaLlon ls easy
oLenLlal remalns close Lo L
CC
so lL ls essenLlally a nondesLrucLlve Lechnlque
and can be used for conLlnuous monlLorlng for lnhlblLor evaluaLlon
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?ou need Lo know Lhe 1afel ConsLanL(s)
L
CC
may be unsLable
use of a Scan 8aLe LhaL ls Loo fasL (SLep PelghL Loo hlgh or Sampllng erlod Loo
shorL)
CompllcaLlons from alloys conLalnlng several elecLroacLlve meLals (reducLlon or
oxldaLlon of more Lhan one elecLroacLlve specles)
uncompensaLed soluLlon reslsLance