Dissolved-oxygen reduction curve behavior

This is the general behavior that may be expected whenever there are two possible reactions in a given potential range. Most of the time in metal electrodeposition, these two reactions are the reduction of metal cations and the discharge of hydrogen ions, but other cathodic processes are also possible, e.g., the discharge of dissolved oxygen. A similar behavior is to be expected in the electrodeposition of binary alloys when the difference between the equilibrium potential of the two metal redox couples is remarkable. The typical shape of the polarization curve as briefly discussed... 

Fig. 5.42 Approximate polarization curves for iron, nickel, chromium, and titanium in 1 N H2S04. Approximate cathodic polarization curves for reduction of nitric acid, dissolved oxygen, and hydrogen ions. An explanation for predicting corrosion behavior based on intersection of anodic and cathodic curves can be found in the text.

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