Copper Corrosion in Acid Chloride Solutions: A Quartz Microgravimetry Study

Abstract

Making use of the quartz microgravimetry method allows one to in situ obtain the m vs. t curves simultaneously with the Ecor vs. t curves (m is the weight of a dissolved or deposited substance, t a time period, Ecor a corrosion potential), which gives one a chance to determine the corrosion rate and its dependence on the concentration of copper ions and chloride ions in solution to within a good accuracy. The corrosion rate increases with increasing concentration of ions of divalent copper in solution, while an increase in the concentration of chloride ions does not lead to its change. The formation of a salt film of an intermediate compound of univalent copper during the copper dissolution process in solutions diluted with respect to chloride ions (0.1 M NaCl, 0.03 M CuCl2) is discovered experimentally. In the m vs. t curves, the formation of the film manifests itself in the form of an increase in the electrode weight, while the corrosion potential transients reflect but weakly the occurring complex surface conversions. Techniques for the identification of intermediate solid species are proposed. The coefficients of mass transfer with respect to ions of divalent copper are determined. Explanations for variations in the system's behavior following a decrease in the concentration of chloride ions in solution are offered.