Corrosion of ultra-fine grained copper fabricated by equal-channel angular pressing

Abstract

Corrosion of ultra-fine grain (UFG) copper fabricated by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) has been investigated in comparison with that in recrystallized coarse grain (CG) copper. Corrosion current was estimated by a Tafel extrapolation method to examine the kinetics of corrosion in a modified Livingstone etchant, which is sensitive to dislocations and grain boundaries. UFG copper exhibited a lower corrosion current in comparison with that in its recrystallized coarse grain (CG) counterpart despite the fact that the dislocation density and total fraction of grain boundaries are much greater in UFG copper than in CG copper. Corrosion damage on the surface of UFG copper is macroscopically rather uniform whereas obvious attack at grain boundaries and selective corrosion of some grain interiors were observed in CG copper.