Corrosion of stainless steels in acid solutions with organic sulfur-containing compounds

Abstract

The influence of the organic sulfur-containing compounds on the corrosion of ferrite and austenitic stainless steels in sulfuric acid was studied. The results showed that the anodic dissolution and self-corrosion of stainless steels were remarkably accelerated in solutions with a low amount of the organic sulfur-containing compounds (0.02 mmol/dm 3). With an increase of the organic sulfur-containing compound concentration, more and more the organic sulfur-containing compound molecules adsorbed on the electrode surface and segregated the metal surface from the solution, which caused the decrease of the anodic dissolution and hydrogen evolution current of stainless steels. The anodic polarization behaviors of stainless steels were also changed with the various types of the organic sulfur-containing compounds and stainless steels.