Corrosion kinetics cathodically controlled

Fig. 10.5 Polarisation diagram representing corrosion and cathodic protection when the cathodic process is under mass transfer control. The values of fcorr and /cor, are lower than when there is no mass transfer restriction, i.e. when the cathodic kinetics follow the dotted line...

The overall balance of electric charges between the anodic and the cathodic processes must be equal to zero, expressed in terms of currents and not in terms of current densities. If we consider a hypothetical corrosion process, in which the kinetic corrosion resistances are those related to the cathodic process, and if we consider also that the cathodic surface is coupled with an anodic one of equal surface area, then both currents and the current densities will be equal on both areas. If the cathodic area is kept constant and the anodic surface area is varied, the total anodic current must be maintained constant by assuming cathodic control, it will also render constant the amount of dissolved metal. The anodic current density and, hence, the rate of penetration of the attack of the... 

Figures 1.27a to d show how the Evans diagram can be used to illustrate how the rate may be controlled by either the polarisation of one or both of the partial reactions (cathodic, anodic or mixed control) constituting corrosion reaction, or by the resistivity of the solution or films on the metal surface (resistance control). Figures 1. lie and/illustrate how kinetic factors may be more significant than the thermodynamic tendency ( , u) and how provides no information on the corrosion rate.

Over the years the original Evans diagrams have been modified by various workers who have replaced the linear E-I curves by curves that provide a more fundamental representation of the electrode kinetics of the anodic and cathodic processes constituting a corrosion reaction (see Fig. 1.26). This has been possible partly by the application of electrochemical theory and partly by the development of newer experimental techniques. Thus the cathodic curve is plotted so that it shows whether activation-controlled charge transfer (equation 1.70) or mass transfer (equation 1.74) is rate determining. In addition, the potentiostat (see Section 20.2) has provided... 

Both batteries and fuei cells utilize controlled chemical reactions in which the desired process occurs electrochemically and all other reactions including corrosion are hopefully absent or severely kinetically suppressed. This desired selectivity demands careful selection of the chemical components including their morphology and structure. Nanosize is not necessarily good, and in present commercial lithium batteries, particle sizes are intentionally large. All batteries and fuel cells contain an electropositive electrode (the anode or fuel) and an electronegative electrode (the cathode or oxidant) between which resides the electrolyte. To ensure that the anode and cathode do not contact each other and short out the cell, a separator is placed between the two electrodes. Most of these critical components are discussed in this thematic issue. 

Corrosion control using external polarization usually operates by reducing the driving force for the metal dissolution reaction, as in cathodic protection. For passivating metals, an alternative is to reduce the kinetics of the dissolution process by raising the potential. This is known as anodic protection and has been... 

Metal corrosion is a superposition of metal dissolution or the formation of solid corrosion products and a compensating cathodic reaction. Both processes have their own thermodynamic data and kinetics including a possible transport control. Furthermore, metals are generally not chemically and physically homogeneous so that localized corrosion phenomena, local elements, mechanical stress, surface layers, etc. may play a decisive role. Therefore, one approach is the detailed analysis of all contributing reactions and their mechanisms, which however does not always give a conclusive answer for an existing corrosion in practice. 

While an ovapotential may be applied electrically, we are interested in the overpotential that is reached via chemical equilibrium with a second reaction. As mentioned previously, the oxidation of a metal requires a corresponding reduction reaction. As shown in Figure 4.34, both copper oxidation, and the corresponding reduction reaction may be plotted on the same scale to determine the chemical equilibrium between the two reactions. The intersection of the two curves in Figure 4.34 gives the mixed potential and the corrosion current. The intersection point depends upon several factors including (the reversible potential of the cathodic reaction), cu2+/cu> Tafel slopes and of each reaction, and whether the reactions are controlled by Tafel kinetics or concentration polarization. In addition, other reduction and oxidation reactions may occur simultaneously which will influence the mixed potential. 

Electroless metal deposition at trace levels in the solution is an important factor affecting silicon wafer cleaning. The deposition rate of most metals at trace levels depends mainly on the metal concentration and some may also depend on the interaction with other species as well. For copper the deposition rate at trace levels in HF solutions is different for n and p types. It depends on illumination for p-Si but not for n-Si. It is also different in HF and BHF solutions. In a HF solution the deposition process is controlled by both the supply of minority carriers and the kinetics of cathodic reactions. Thus, a high deposition rate occurs on p-Si only when both and illumination are present. In the BHF solution, the corrosion process is limited by the supply of electrons for p-Si whereas for n-Si it is limited by the dissolution of silicon because the reaction rate is indepaidmt of concentration and illumination. The amount of copper deposition does not correlate with the corrosion current density, which may be attributed to the chemical reactions associated with hydrogen reduction. More information on trace metal deposition can be found in Chapters 2 and 7. 

Tafel plots of E vs. log /, such as those shown in Figure 26.31, are often used to determine the rate of a corrosion process. For a corroding metal (anode) that is driven by a single kinetically controlled reduction reaction (such as hydrogen evolution from an acid-containing solution), one can write the following Tafel equations for cathodic proton reduction and anodic metal dissolution ... 

The use of Tafel plots for the analysis of metal corrosion systems indicates how dissolved O2 in solution and the subsequent O2 reduction (which is under kinetic control) accelerates metal corrosion. Due to the high value of E for O2 reduction (+1.23 V vs. SHE), the intersection of the oxygen reduction and metal dissolution Tafel lines occurs at high values of E and When the reduction of both H+ and O2 drives metal corrosion (with the reduction reactions under kinetic control), one simply adds together the current-voltage Tafel lines for the two reduction reactions. A new line is then drawn for the sum of the cathodic currents on the corroding metal. The intersection of this new line with the metal oxidation Tafel line gives E and... 

The propagation of crevice corrosion, cannot he sustained at rates on the order of A cm for long periods of time. Like all corrosion, the anodic reaction, cathodic reaction, or solution properties can control the rate. For example, if the dissolution kinetics in the occluded solution are sluggish, the polarization by the cathodic reaction has a more limited effect. On the other hand, diffusion... 

The anode and cathode corrosion currents, fcorr.A and fcorr,B. respectively, are estimated at the intersection of the cathode and anode polarization of uncoupled metals A and B. Conventional electrochemical cells as well as the polarization systems described in Chapter 5 are used to measure electrochemical kinetic parameters in galvanic couples. Galvanic corrosion rates are determined from galvanic currents at the anode. The rates are controlled by electrochemical kinetic parameters like hydrogen evolution exchange current density on the noble and active metal, exchange current density of the corroding metal, Tafel slopes, relative electroactive area, electrolyte composition, and temperature. 

Cathodic protection (CP) is defined as the reduction or elimination of corrosion by making the metal a cathode by means of impressed current or sacrificial anode (usually magnesimn, aluminum, or zinc) [11]. This method uses cathodic polarization to control electrode kinetics occurring on the metal-electrolyte interface. The principle of cathodic protection can be explained by the Wagner-Traud mixed potential theory [12]. 

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