1.

0 Introduction:
1.1 Relevance of Topic

From the first human usage of metal, whether it is for tools and weapons or
bridges and cars, humans have been complied to try and understand and control
corrosion 1. Corrosion is the primary means by which metals deteriorate. Most
metals corrode on contact with water (and moisture in the air), acids, bases, salts,
oils, aggressive metal polishes, and other solid and liquid chemicals 1. In society,
public infrastructures such as highways, airports, water supply, buildings and
energy supply are nearly all made of materials that are affected by corrosion 2.
Therefore it is important to understand the importance of corrosion, as it is a part
of our everyday life - in the manufacture of products, the transportation of people
and goods and the protection of our health and safety 2. The effects of corrosion
on safety, health, and the environment are not so readily quantifiable, but failures
of infrastructure demonstrate the potential for severe impacts on daily life and
economic health and security 2.

Factors of the conductors, substrate and environment are all elements involved
with the corrosion of metals 3. A list of factors for each element can be seen in
figure 1. Another factor that affects the rate of progress of corrosion is the nature
of the product. If the material produced by corrosion is insoluble and forms a
resistant and tenacious layer, the corrosion reaction becomes self-limiting, as the
corrosive medium can no longer diffuse through the corrosion product 3. A way of
dealing with this is the treatment of this corroding medium to reduce its corrosive
activity 4. The use of different types of inhibitors, especially volatile ones, has
been widely used to protect parts in atmospheric conditions 4. Another method of
dealing with corrosion is coating the metal in protective glaze, organic coatings
(paints, high-polymers and greases), inorganic coatings such as phosphates,
oxides, chromates etc 4. Metallic coating are also used to prevent corrosion, these
are coatings of diverse types like metallization, sublimes, diffusion and plated 4.

Factor
Conductors Nature of the material or alloy
Surface condition/roughness
Conductor configuration
Conductor-conductor spacing
Substrate Composition
Moisture absorptive
Structure
Nature of any reinforcement
Environment Temperature
Humidity
Corrosive elements (type;
concentration)
Figure 1: Factors that affect corrosion (after Viswanadham, 1998) 3.
The ocean plays a vital part in society, with numerous seawater systems such as
shipping, offshore oil and gas production, power plants and coastal industrial
plants 5. Seawaters main use is for cooling, occasionally fire-fighting and
desalination 5. Within these systems there are problems with corrosion that have
been studied thoroughly over many years, however failures still occur 5. In the
presence of moist air or oxygenated water iron will corrode 6. Progressive rusting
is a major reason behind unprotected structures failing 6. A corrosive environment
of iron only requires the presence of water together with either a dissolved acid
gas or oxygen, or in some cases just dissolved salts 6, making sea water a perfect
candidate for iron corrosion.

1.2 Background Chemistry of Corrosion

Corrosion of iron consists of the formation of hydrated oxide, Fe(OH)3 or
FeO(OH). Corrosion is an electrochemical process where water, oxygen and an
electrolyte all attribute to the process 7. When any one of these are absent,
rusting does not occur to any significant extent 7. In air, a relative humidity of over
50% provides the necessary amount of water for corrosion to occur, and at 80%
corrosion is severe 7. The process is complex and depends highly on the
conditions surrounding the iron. In the case of a small amount of O2, the anodic
oxidation will be: Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-, and the cathodic reduction: 2H2O + 2e- → H2 +
2OH- with an overall equation of Fe + 2H2O → H2 + Fe2+ + 2OH 7.

If both water and air are present, then the corrosion can be severe with oxygen
now as the oxidant the anodic oxidations: 2Fe → 2Fe2+ + 4e- and the cathodic
reduction O2 + 2H2O + 4e- → 4OH-, again with an overall equation of 2Fe + O2 +
2H2O → 2Fe(OH)2 with limited O2, magnetite is formed (Fe3O4), otherwise the
familiar red-brown Fe2O3 H2O “rust” is found 7.

The most important components of seawater that influence corrosion are salinity,
temperature, dissolved gases (mostly oxygen and carbon dioxide), and pH 8.
Seawater has a pH level ranging anywhere between 7.5 to 8.5. Maximum
corrosion occurs near 3.5% NaCl, which so happens to be the salinity of seawater
9
. When iron and oxygen combine to make iron oxide (rust), heat is given off,
 which means the reaction is exothermic (exo means "out" and therm means
"heat," so heat is sent out when the reaction occurs). With a thermometer and a
timer, you can measure how fast heat is being given off (the rate), and that will
give you an idea of how fast the reaction is occurring, thus the rate of corrosion 10.

Corrosion situation is more complex if more than one metal is present within the
system. Which metal will undergo oxidation is determined by the ‘standard
electrode potential 3.

Table 2: Standard oxidation electrode potentials for common metals used in

electronic packaging (after Viswanadham, 1998)

Metal ion Electrode

in potential
Metal equilibrium at 25°C (V)
Gold Au3+ 1.498
Palladium Pd2+ 0.987
Silver Ag+ 0.799
Copper Cu2+ 0.337
Cu+ 0.521
Lead Pb2+ –0.126
Tin Sn2+ –0.136
Nickel Ni2+ –0.250
Iron Fe2+ –0.440
Fe3+ 0.331
Chromium, Cr3+ –0.744
Aluminium Al3+ –1.662
Bibliography:
1. http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Principles/Theory.htm
2. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12560&page=9
3. http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0157_corr/index.html
4. http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?
code=k3432548kx286441&size=largest
5. http://www.copper.org/applications/cuni/txt_materials_selection.html
6. http://www.ideaconnection.com/solutions/564-Corrosion-of-iron-and-
steel.html
7. http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/courses/iron.html
8. http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/swcomposition.htm
9. http://asmcommunity.asminternational.org/portal/site/www/AsmStore/Prod
uctDetails/?
vgnextoid=3f067e0e64e18110VgnVCM100000701e010aRCRD
10. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_ideas/Chem_p079.shtml