Micro-galvanic effects and corrosion inhibition of copper-zinc alloys

Sammanfattning:    With the advancement and accessibility of local probing techniques that can operate at the submicron scale it has become possible to analyse the local corrosion properties of industrially important metallic materials and relate these properties to microstructure characteristics of the same materials. In this doctoral study the focus has been on copper-zinc samples, both as industrial brass alloys and as micro-patterned copper-zinc samples. They have been exposed to dilute chloride solutions and to an atmosphere that mimics indoor conditions that cause corrosion. The main goal has been to investigate micro-galvanic effects caused by surface heterogeneities in the copper-zinc samples, and the corrosion inhibition ability of a self-assembled octadecanethiol (ODT, CH3(CH2)17SH) monolayer when applied to these heterogeneous samples. The local chemistry, local electrochemistry, and local surface chemistry in the presence of the copper-zinc galvanic couplings have been elucidated, and their importance has been investigated for corrosion initiation, propagation, termination, and inhibition. A broad spectrum of local probe techniques has been utilised. They include optical microscopy (ex situ and in situ), electrochemical techniques, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy and confocal Raman spectroscopy. In addition, infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (in situ) and vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy have been employed to analyse the formation of corrosion products and monitor the corrosion kinetics.   A characteristic selective zinc dissolution process was triggered in non-metallic inclusions when a brass alloy was exposed to 1 mM NaCl. Disc-like corrosion areas spread radially outwards from the inclusions, the shape and termination of which was attributed to accessibility to chloride ions. An ODT-layer deposited on brass retarded access to chloride ions at the brass surface and slowed down the radial corrosion process. Instead a delayed formation of filiform-like corrosion was observed.   Upon exposure of the copper-zinc patterned sample to humidified air containing formic acid, micro-galvanic effects were induced by the copper patches on zinc that accelerated the zinc dissolution in the thin aqueous adlayer with concomitant precipitation of zinc formate. The micro-galvanic effects not only resulted in accelerated corrosion rates for zinc, but also in broadening of shapes and atomic structures for the corrosion products formed. Crystalline zinc oxide and zinc formate were observed on the copper-zinc patterned samples, whereas amorphous zinc oxide and zinc formate were formed on the bare zinc surface. Micro-galvanic effects occurred in the two-phase Cu40Zn (Cu with 40 wt% Zn) brass alloy as well, induced by more zinc-rich beta-phase grains surrounded by an alpha matrix with lower zinc-content.   The application of a self-assembled monolayer of ODT for corrosion inhibition of pure zinc and the patterned copper-zinc samples was also explored. In situ infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy analyses showed that ODT initially reduced the rate of zinc formate formation on pure zinc and on the copper-zinc micro-patterned sample. However, the inhibition efficiency was slightly reduced with exposure time due to local removal of ODT on pure zinc and on the micro-patterned samples. This caused micro-galvanic effects that resulted in increased rates of zinc formate formation on the ODT-covered samples – even higher than on the uncovered samples. When applied to the single-phase Cu20Zn alloy, ODT resulted in a corrosion inhibition that was comparable to that of pure copper, a metal for which ODT has shown very good corrosion inhibition. On double-phase Cu40Zn local galvanic effects resulted in less efficient corrosion inhibition and more abundant corrosion products than on Cu20Zn. Based on vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy, the ODT-layer retained its well-ordered molecular structure throughout the exposure to both Cu20Zn and Cu40Zn.   In all, the inhibiting action of the ODT-layer was attributed to the transport hindrance of corrosion promoters (O2, H2O, and HCOOH) to the brass surface. This result suggests that ODT can function as a temporary corrosion inhibitor for brass exposed to benign indoor environments.