An experimental set-up to apply polarization modulation to infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy for improved in situ studies of atmospheric corrosion processes.

Abstract

A new set-up for improved monitoring of atmospheric corrosion processes in situ and in real-time is presented. To characterize chemical structures of thin films on metal surfaces surface sensitive analytical techniques are required. One possible technique is Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (IRRAS) which has become an established method to investigate surface corrosion films of thicknesses less than 200 nm. However, there are limitations related to the sensitivity of these measurements, in case of investigating ultrathin films or absorption bands of interest, surface species are superimposed by atmospheric background absorption, which changes during in situ measurements in ambient atmospheres. These difficulties of in situ surface reflection measurements can be eliminated by availing the polarization selectivity of adsorbed surface species. At grazing angles of incidence the absorption of p-polarized infrared radiation by thin surface films on metals is enhanced, while the absorption of s-polarized light by this film is nearly zero. This different behavior of the polarization properties leads to strong selection rules at the surface and can therefore be used to identify molecules adsorbed on metal surfaces. Polarization Modulation (PM) of the infrared (IR) light takes advantage of this disparity of polarization on sample surfaces and in combination with IRRAS yielding a very sensitive and surface-selective method for obtaining IR spectra of ultra-thin films on metal surfaces. An already existing in situ IRRAS/Quartz Crystal Microbalance weathering cell was combined with PM and evaluated according to its applicability to study in situ atmospheric corrosion processes. First real-time measurements on silver samples exposed to different atmospheres were performed showing the advantage of PM-IRRAS compared to conventional IRRAS for such investigations.