An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study of copper in a bentonite/saline groundwater environment

Abstract

Pure copper samples have been exposed for 6 years in a bentonite test parcel in the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, which offers a realistic environment for the conditions that will prevail in a deep repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal in Sweden. After retrieval of the test parcel, a bentonite test package containing the samples was placed in a container and sealed with a thick layer of paraffin, and later on new copper and platinum samples were installed. An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study has been performed on the pre-exposed and new copper samples for different durations in the retrieved test package. The impedance spectra for copper in the bentonite/saline groundwater environment change considerably with time of exposure. The change is more pronounced at higher than at lower frequencies. It is presumed that the corrosion resistance of pure copper in this environment mainly depends on a thin protective cuprite film that forms readily, and on a thick porous outer corrosion product layer (mainly cuprite) that develops slowly and partly intermixes with the bentonite. The impedance data revealed that both the inner and the outer corrosion product layer were involved in the impairment and the recovery of the corrosion resistance when the copper interface was disturbed during retrieval of the bentonite test package.