Beryllium corrosion behaviour

In its general corrosion behaviour, beryllium exhibits characteristics very similar to those of aluminium. Like aluminium, the film-free metal is highly active and readily attacked in many environments. Beryllium oxide, however, like alumina, is, a very stable compound (standard free energy of formation = —579kJ/mol), with a bulk density of 3-025g/cm as compared with 1 -85 g/cm for the pure metal, and with a high electronic resistivity of about 10 flcm at 0°C. In fact, when formed, the oxide confers the same type of spurious nobility on beryllium as is found, for example, with aluminium, titanium and zirconium. 

Beryllium is readily attacked by most acids and, being amphoteric, is slowly attacked by caustic alkalis with the evolution of hydrogen. As might be anticipated, in view of the controlling influence of the surface film of beryllia on corrosion behaviour, concentrated nitric acid has little effect on beryllium , while the dilute acid results in slow attack. Hot acid is much more reactive. Nitric acid is in fact often used to pickle-off residual mild steel from hot-extruded clad beryllium. 

Surface condition Machined, abraded and pickled surfaces all exhibit much the same behaviour in water, and after exposure of up to about one year at temperatures less than I00°C average attack measures 0 0025-0 0050mm/y. Almost always, however, corrosion of beryllium in water is accompanied by pitting and, on machined surfaces, pits of as much as 0-25mm have been observed in 0-0005M hydrogen peroxide at 85°C. Under similar conditions, annealed material has been found to be somewhat less resistant to attack than either machined or pickled surfaces. 

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