Microstructure, Stiffness and Corrosion of Bare and Phosphated Specimens Made by Sintering of Structured Iron-Iron Oxide Spheres

Abstract

Granulated iron oxide particles were incompletely reduced to structured particles comprised metallic iron and residual iron oxides. Structured particles were pressed into prismatic compacts and sintered. Some of sintered specimens were subsequently phosphatized and calcined. Specimens with an iron phosphate coating were found stiffer than specimens without coating. In Hanks' solution, a galvanic corrosion was induced by more noble iron oxides coupled to a less noble metallic iron. This could explain higher corrosion potentials and higher rates of iron dissolution in comparison with a pure iron. The coating of specimens with iron phosphates shifted corrosion potentials towards more negative values and slowed down the dissolution of iron. This was most likely caused by a reduction in oxygen flow through the coating to iron-oxide cathodes, which has enhanced the influence of diffusion control on the kinetics of reduction reaction.