Effects of copper and titanium on the corrosion behavior of newly fabricated nanocrystalline aluminum in natural seawater

Abstract

Fabrication of a newly nanocrystalline Al and two of its alloys, namely Al–10%Cu; and Al–10%Cu–5%Ti has been carried out using mechanical alloying (MA) technique. The corrosion behavior of these materials in aerated stagnant Arabian Gulf seawater (AGSW) at room temperature has been reported. Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP), chronoamperometric current-time (CCT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive (EDX) investigations were employed to report the corrosion behavior of the fabricated materials. All results indicated that Al suffers both uniform and localized corrosion in the AGSW test solution. The presence of 10%Cu decreases the corrosion current density, the anodic and cathodic currents and corrosion rate and increases the corrosion resistance of Al. The addition of 5%Ti to the Al–10%Cu alloy produced further decreases in the corrosion parameters. Measurements together confirmed that the corrosion of the fabricated materials in AGSW decreases in the order Al>Al–10%Cu>Al–10%Cu–5%Ti.