• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 2010

According to the bipolar model, ion selectivity of some species in the passive film is important factor to control the passivation. An increase of cation selectivity of outer layer of the passive film can stabilize the film and improves the corrosion resistance. Therefore, the formation and roles of ionic species in the passive film should be elucidated. In this work, two types of solution (hydrochloric or sulfuric acid) were used to test high N and Mo-bearing stainless steels. The objective of this work was to investigate the formation of oxyanions in the passive film and the roles of oxyanions in passivation of stainless steel. Nitrogen exists as atomic nitrogen, nitric oxide, nitro-oxyanions (${NO_x}^-$), and N-H species, not nitride in the passive film. Because of its high mobility, the enriched atomic nitrogen can act as a reservoir. The formation of N-H species buffers the film pH and facilitates the formation of oxyanions in the film. ${NO_x}^-$ species improve the cation selectivity of the film, increasing the oxide content and film density. ${NO_x}^-$ acts similar to a strong inhibitor both in the passive film and at active sites. This facilitates the formation of chromium oxide. Also, ${NO_x}^-$ can make more molybdate and nitric oxide by reacting with Mo. The role of Mo addition on the passivation characteristics of stainless steel may differ with the test environment. Mo exists as metallic molybdenum, molybdenum oxide, and molybdate and the latter facilitates the oxide formation. When nitrogen and molybdenum coexist in stainless steel, corrosion resistance in chloride solutions is drastically increased. This synergistic effect of N and Mo in a chloride solution is mainly due to the formation of nitro-oxyanions and molybdate ion. Oxyanions can be formed by a 'solid state reaction' in the passive film, resulting in the formation of more molybdate and nitric oxide. These oxyanions improve the cation selectivity of the outer layer and form more oxide and increase the amount of chromium oxide and the ratio of $Cr_2O_3/Cr(OH)_3$ and make the film stable and dense.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.58-62
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• 2011

Stainless steels are alloy steels with a nominal chromium content of at least 11 percent, with other alloy additions. The stainlessness and corrosion resistance of these alloy steels are attributed to the presence of a passive oxide film on the surface. When exposed to conditions like Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) process that remove the passive oxide film, stainless steels are subject to corrosive attack. And exposure to elevated temperatures causes oxidation (discoloration) of areas around indentation in Spot welding. In this paper, deal with the effect of shielding gas (Ar) preventing the corrosion, oxidation of stainless steel. And find the optimal shielding gas flow rate. In addition, suggest effective purging method for direct/indirect spot welding process.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 1995

AISI 304 stainless steel has high resistance to corrosion due to the presence of a self-healing chromium oxide film on the surface, which also accounts for the difficulty in plating. Surface cleaning of this alloy is of fundamental importance in gold plating since its effectiveness puts an upper limit on the quality of the final coating. The cleaning of AISI 304 stainless steel was investigated with elimination of artificial passive oxide film and degreasing of remaining buffing wax as stearic acid. The familiar cleaning methods i.e. ultrasonic cleaning, electro-cleaning and activation treatment were fabricated in this study. Activation treatment showed best cleaning efficiency for elimination of passive oxide film among these methods, which was also confirmed by AES (Auger electron spectrometer) analysis. However, the best condition of cleaning was obtained by combining these methods. Electrocleaning time, for degreasing the stearic acid layer, was decreased with increasing amount of added KCN.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2007

In this study, new evaluation method for the stability and corrosion resistance properties of passive films has been suggested by means of observation of self-activation process in open-circuit state and galvanostatic nanoscale reduction test. The experiments were performed for air-formed oxide film in case of plain carbon steel, and for anodically passivated films formed in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions in case of titanium and 304 stainless steel. From these experimental results, we derived two parameters, $i_{0}$ and $q_{0}$, which characterize the self-activation process and the properties of passive film on a stainless steel surface. The parameter $i_{0}$ was defined as the rate of self-activation, and $q_{0}$, the reduced amount of charge during the self-activation process. In conclusion, it is considered that the stability and corrosion resistance of passive metals and alloys can be evaluated quantitatively by three parameters of $\tau_{0}$, $q_{0}$, and $i_{0}$, which easily obtain by means of observing the self-activation process and galvanostatic nanoscale reduction test.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.644-651
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• 2009

The passivation (or deactivation) of a metal surface during oxide film formation has been quantitatively explored for a ferritic stainless steel by using dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (DEIS). For this purpose, the electrochemical impedance spectra were carefully examined as a function of applied potential in the active nose region of the potentiodynamic polarization curve, to separate the charge transfer resistance and oxide film resistance. From the discrepancy in the potential dependence between the experimental charge transfer resistance and the semi-empirically expected one, the degree of passivation could be quantitatively estimated. The sensitivity of passivation of the steel surface to anodic potential, which might be the measure of the quality of the oxide film formed under unit driving force or over-potential, decreased by 31% when 3.5 wt% NaCl was added to a 5 wt% $H_2SO_4$ solution.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.309-314
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• 2023

This study aimed to address the limitations of traditional plasma nitriding methods by implementing a short-term plasma oxy-nitriding treatment on the surface of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel. This treatment involved the sequential formation of nitride and oxide layers, to enhance surface hardness and corrosion resistance, respectively. The process resulted in the formation of a 20 ㎛-thick nitride layer and a 3 ㎛-thick oxide layer on the steel surface. Initially, the hardness increased by 2.2 times after nitriding, followed by a subsequent decrease of approximately 31 % after oxidation. While the nitriding process reduced corrosion resistance, the subsequent oxidation process led to the formation of a passive oxide film, effectively resolving this issue. The pitting corrosion of the oxide passive film started at 82.6 mVssc, providing better corrosion resistance characteristics than the nitride layer. Consequently, the trade-off between surface hardness and corrosion resistance in plasma oxy-nitrided AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel is anticipated to be recognized as an innovative and comprehensive surface treatment process for biomedical components.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 2010

The morphology of the passivated surface of stainless steel (SS) was quantitatively characterized based on fractal geometry. In particular, the surface irregularities of the passivated 304 and 439 SSs were comparatively analyzed in terms of their self-similar fractal dimensions. The passivated surface of 439 SS in an acid-based electrolyte proved to have a higher fractal dimension, as compared to that of 304 SS, esp. at a scale of several tens of nanometers, strongly indicating the higher irregularity of the passivated surface. It is anticipated that the fractal approach suggested herein might be effectively utilized to analyze the irregularity of the steel surface and/or the compactness of the oxide film.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.171-177
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• 2003

The electronic properties of the passive film formed on Fe-20Cr ferritic stainless steel in pH 8.5 buffer solution containing 0.05 M EDTA (ethylene diammine tetraacetic acid) were examined by the photocurrent measurements and Mott-Schottky analysis for the film. XPS depth profile for the film demonstrated that Cr content in the outermost layer of the passive film was higher in the solution with EDTA than that in the solution without EDTA, due to selective dissolution of Fe by EDTA. In the solution with EDTA, the passive film showed characteristics of an amorphous or highly disordered n-type semiconductor. The band gap energies of the passive film are estimated to be ~ 3.0 eV, irrespective of film formation potential from 0 to 700 $mV_SCE$ and of presence of EDTA. However, the donor density of the passive film formed in the solution with EDTA is much higher than that formed in the solution without EDTA, due to an increase in oxygen vacancy resulted from the dissolution of Fe-oxide in the outermost layer of the passive film. These results support the proposed model that the passive film formed on Fe-20Cr in pH 8.5 buffer solution mainly consists of Cr-substituted $\gamma$-$Fe_2O_3$.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.261-266
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• 2015

The capacity of passive metal to repassivate after film damage determines the development of local corrosion and the resistance to corrosion failures. In this work, the repassivation kinetics of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) was investigated in borate buffer solution (pH 9.1) using a novel abrading electrode technique. The repassivation kinetics was analyzed in terms of the current density flowing from freshly bare 316L SS surface as measured by a potentiostatic method. During the early phase of decay (t < 2 s), according to the Avrami kinetics-based film growth model, the transient current was separated into anodic dissolution ($i_{diss}$) and film formation ($i_{film}$) components and analyzed individually. The film reformation rate and thickness were compared according to applied potential. Anodic dissolution initially dominated the repassivation for a short time, and the amount of dissolution increased with increasing applied potential in the passive region. Film growth at higher potentials occurred more rapidly compared to at lower potentials. Increasing the applied potential from 0 $V_{SCE}$ to 0.8 $V_{SCE}$ resulted in a thicker passive film (0.12 to 0.52 nm). If the oxide monolayer covered the entire bare surface (${\theta}=1$), the electric field strength through the thin passive film reached $1.6{\times}10^7V/cm$.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.391-400
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• 2002

Corrosion characteristics of Ti, Ti/Cr coated and plasma-nitrided surface for stainless steel containing Ti have been studied. Stainless steels containing 0.09-0.92wt% Ti were fabricated by using vacuum furnace and solutionized for 1hr at 105$0^{\circ}C$. Ti and Cr coatings were done on solutionized stainless steel surface by EB-PVD. The Ti coated specimen were coated by Cr and were nitrided by plasma at $450^{\circ}C$ for 5hr. Microstructure and phase analysis were performed using SEM, OM and EDX. Corrosion behavior of the coated specimen was investigated by electrochemical test. The coated surface was of fine columnar structure. The Ti/Cr coated surface was denser than the Ti coated and the Ti coated-nitrided surfaces. The corrosion and pitting potential increased in proportion to the Ti content, coating temperature, coating thickness and formation of stable oxide film. The current density in active and passive region decreased in the case of Ti/Cr coated sample and Ti coated-nitrided samples. Especially the plasma nitrided specimen after Ti coating have a good corrosion resistance compared with the Ti coated specimen. The number and size of pits decreased as Ti content of matrix increased.