Passive film growth process

Fig, 4. 22 shows the double-log plots of current density with time for two alloys. For passive films on two alloys, k = -0.5 is obtained and there is no obvious difference in the k value. Therefore, the passive films on two alloys are loose and passive film growths are at the control of diffusion process. 

Compared with XPS and AES, the higher surface specificity of SSIMS (1-2 mono-layers compared with 2-8 monolayers) can be useful for more precise determination of the chemistry of an outer surface. Although from details of the 01s spectrum, XPS could give the information that OH and oxide were present on a surface, and from the Cls spectrum that hydrocarbons and carbides were present, only SSIMS could be used to identify the particular hydroxide or hydrocarbons. In the growth of oxide films for different purposes (e.g. passivation or anodization), such information is valuable, because it provides a guide to the quality of the film and the nature of the growth process. 

The process described above is expected to produce a random distribution of active and passive spots on the electrode interface. But the electrode surface may also be artificially patterned prior to anodization in order to form nucleation centers for pore growth. This may be a lithographically formed pattern in said passive film or a predetermined pattern of depressions in the electrode material itself, which become pore tips upon subsequent anodization. The latter case applies to silicon electrodes and is discussed in detail in Chapter 9, which is devoted to macropore formation in silicon electrodes. 

In addition to examining the structure and growth of thin passivating oxide films, the process of film reduction and breakdown promises to be a fruitful area of research. Some preliminary results involving SECM as well as STM have been published [257,270,271]. 

While desorption is operative to some extent at most Semico nductor/electrolyte interfaces, in some cases surface passivation can occur. Here charge transfer across the interface is used to establish covalent bonds with electrolyte species, which results in changes in surface composition. This is typified by the well-known oxide film growth on n-GaP and n-GaAs surfaces in aqueous solutions. In these cases, however, the passivation process can be competed with effectively by the use of high concentrations of other redox species such as the polychalcogenides. 

Fig. 4 shows a simple phase diagram for a metal (1) covered with a passivating oxide layer (2) contacting the electrolyte (3) with the reactions at the interfaces and the transfer processes across the film. This model is oversimplified. Most passive layers have a multilayer structure, but usually at least one of these partial layers has barrier character for the transfer of cations and anions. Three main reactions have to be distinguished. The corrosion in the passive state involves the transfer of cations from the metal to the oxide, across the oxide and to the electrolyte (reaction 1). It is a matter of a detailed kinetic investigation as to which part of this sequence of reactions is the rate-determining step. The transfer of O2 or OH- from the electrolyte to the film corresponds to film growth or film dissolution if it occurs in the opposite direction (reaction 2). These anions will combine with cations to new oxide at the metal/oxide and the oxide/electrolyte interface. Finally, one has to discuss electron transfer across the layer which is involved especially when cathodic redox processes have to occur to compensate the anodic metal dissolution and film formation (reaction 3). In addition, one has to discuss the formation of complexes of cations at the surface of the passive layer, which may increase their transfer into the electrolyte and thus the corrosion current density (reaction 4). The scheme of Fig. 4 explains the interaction of the partial electrode processes that are linked to each other by the elec-... 

Fig. 31, Schematic of physicochemical processes that cwcur within a passive film according to the point defect model m = metal atom Mm = metal cation in cation site Oo = oxygen ion in anion site VjjJ = cation vacancy Vq = anion vaccancy Vm = vacancy in metal phase. During film growth, cation vacancies are produced at the film/solution interface, but are consumed at the metal/film interface. Likewise, anion vacancies are formed at the metal/film interface, but are consumed at the film/solution interface. Consequently, the fluxes of cation vacancies and anion vacancies are in the directions indicated. Note that reactions (i), (iii), and (iv) are lattice-conservative processes, whereas reactions (ii) and (v) are not. Reproduced from J. Electrochem, Sec. 139, 3434 (1992) by permission of the Electrochemical Society.

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