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Corrosion mechanism of copper immersed in ammonium sulfate solution
Author(s) -
Li Kun,
Chen Zhuoyuan,
Li Jiarun,
Sun Xiaoying,
Xu Fengling,
Xu Likun
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
materials and corrosion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1521-4176
pISSN - 0947-5117
DOI - 10.1002/maco.201810222
Subject(s) - copper , corrosion , electrochemistry , erosion corrosion of copper water tubes , materials science , relative humidity , ammonium , inorganic chemistry , adsorption , metallurgy , chemistry , electrode , organic chemistry , meteorology , physics
(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 is abundant in the dust of the rural and industrial atmosphere, by which a thin layer of (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution will be formed on the copper surface and give rise to serious corrosion as soon as the ambient humidity gets the critical relative humidity. In this work, the corrosion mechanism of copper in (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution was studied by microgravimetry associated with SEM/EDS, FT‐IR, XRD, titration method, and electrochemical tests. The results suggest that the corrosion of copper is not only caused by electrochemical effect, but also caused by the synergistic actions of the electrochemical and chemical reactions. In addition, it is found that the presence of free Cu 2+ is the prerequisite for the formation of corrosion products on copper immersed in (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution. NH 4 + plays a dual role in promoting the corrosion of copper and inhibiting the formation of corrosion products on copper surface.