2011/12/23 by Shibin Thomas, S. Thomas, N. Birbilis +4 · 2 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · #Concrete Corrosion and Durability #Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition #Hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion behaviors in metals
paper · doi:10.5006/1.3676630
openalex publication_date 2011/12/23 · crossref created 2011/12/23 · crossref issued 2012/01/01 · crossref published 2012/01/01 · crossref published-print 2012/01/01 · crossref deposited 2023/08/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Anodic and cathodic polarization of zinc was carried out in 0.1 M sodium chloride (NaCl) solution with pH ranging from 1 to 13. The electrochemical data was then contrast to thermodynamic chemical equilibrium diagrams. The analysis shows that, in general, variations in corrosion of zinc with pH are associated with the cathodic currents. In acidic solutions, the active form of corrosion occurring is controlled by the kinetics of the cathodic reaction (predominantly hydrogen evolution). In the pH range (7 to 10), the lowered cathodic reaction rate reduces overall zinc corrosion rates. The surface oxides thermodynamically predicted to form in this pH (7 to 10) do not form an effective corrosion protection barrier. In alkaline conditions corrosion occurs chiefly by the formation of zinc hydroxide complexes or zinc oxides that could protect the surface depending on local pH and potential at the metal surface. This work expands the knowledge on zinc electrode kinetics over a wide range of pH and augments the existing literature on zinc corrosion.