Corrosion Inhibition Mechanism of Steel Reinforcements in Mortar Using Soluble Phosphates: A Critical Review

The influence of calcium on copper corrosion and its by-product release in drinking water

Copper is a high-quality material commonly used in drinking water supply pipes. Calcium is a prevalent cation found in drinking water. However, the effects of calcium on copper corrosion and its by-product release remain unclear. This study discusses the influences of Ca²⁺ on copper corrosion and its by-product release in drinking water under different conditions of Cl^-, SO₄^2-, and Cl^-/SO₄^2-, using electrochemical and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The results indicate that Ca²⁺ slows down the corrosion reaction of copper to some extent in comparison with Cl^-, and the E_corr shifts positively by 0.022 V, while I_corr decreases by 0.235 μA cm^-2. However, the by-product release rate increases by 0.5 μg cm^-2. The addition of Ca²⁺ causes the anodic process to become the controlling factor for corrosion, with an increase in resistance observed in both the inner and outer layers of the corrosion product film through SEM analysis. The corrosion product film becomes denser due to the reaction between Ca²⁺ and Cl^-, forming a product that inhibits the entry of Cl^- into the passive film on the copper surface. Adding Ca²⁺ promotes copper corrosion with the help of SO₄^2- and the release of corrosion by-products. The anodic reaction resistance decreases while the cathodic reaction resistance increases, resulting in a small potential difference of only 10 mV between the anode and cathode. The resistance of the inner layer film decreases, while that of the outer layer film increases. SEM analysis shows that the surface becomes rougher with the addition of Ca²⁺, and 1-4 mm granular corrosion products are formed. This is due to the fact that Cu₄(OH)₆SO₄ has low solubility and forms a relatively dense passive film that inhibits the corrosion reaction. The added Ca²⁺ also reacts with SO₄^2- to form CaSO₄, which reduces the amount of Cu₄(OH)₆SO₄ generated at the interface, thus damaging the integrity of the passive film. Adding Ca²⁺ promotes the corrosion of copper by Cl^- and SO₄^2- and enhances the release of corrosion by-products, with the highest corrosion rate observed under the Cl^-/SO₄^2-/Ca²⁺ conditions. The resistance of the inner layer membrane decreases, while the mass transfer resistance of the outer layer membrane increases. Under the Cl^-/SO₄^2- conditions, the SEM surface of the Cu₂O particles is uniform in size, arranged in an orderly and compact manner. After adding Ca²⁺, the size of the particles becomes uneven, and the surface becomes rough and uneven. This is because Ca²⁺ firstly combines with SO₄^2-, thus promoting corrosion. And then the remaining Ca²⁺ combines with Cl^-, which inhibits corrosion. Despite the amount of remaining Ca²⁺ being small, it still promotes corrosion. The amount of released corrosion by-products is mainly controlled by the redeposition reaction that occurs in the outer layer membrane, determining the amount of Cu₂O to which the copper ions are converted. The increase in resistance of the outer layer membrane means that the charge transfer resistance of the redeposition reaction increases, and the reaction rate slows down. Consequently, the amount of Cu(ii) converted to Cu₂O decreases, leading to an increase in Cu(ii) in the solution. Therefore, adding Ca²⁺ in all three conditions results in an increase in the release of corrosion by-products.

Corrosion Behavior of Reinforcing Steel in the Immersed Tube Tunnel (ITT) under Submarine Environment

The corrosion behavior of reinforcing steel in the ITT under a submarine environment was investigated. Electrochemical tests were carried out to separately determine the linear polarization curves and the AC impedance spectra of rebars in the ITT scaled-down models subjected to pressurized seawater erosion, from which key parameters were obtained, including the self-corrosion potential (E_corr), corrosion current density (i_corr), polarization resistance (R_p), concrete resistance (R_c), and charge migration resistance (R_ct). The results show that in the process of pressurized seawater erosion, the rebars on the seawater side of the ITT models corroded earlier than the rebars on the cavity side, and it is recommended that anti-chloride ion penetration measures be taken on the surface of the seawater side as a priority in the project. The corrosion rate of rebars on the seawater side was significantly higher than that on the cavity side, and the corrosion rate of rebars on the cavity side increased as the erosion time increased. The corrosion rate of rebars in the ITT models was affected by chloride ions to a greater extent than by oxygen. Furthermore, by regression equation, a linear function between R_p obtained from the polarization curves and R_ct obtained from the AC impedance spectra was established.

Adsorption and Surface Analysis of Sodium Phosphate Corrosion Inhibitor on Carbon Steel in Simulated Concrete Pore Solution

Corrosion of steel-reinforced concrete exposed to marine environments could lead to structural catastrophic failure in service. Hence, the construction industry is seeking novel corrosion preventive methods that are effective, cheap, and non-toxic. In this regard, the inhibitive properties of sodium phosphate (Na₃PO₄) corrosion inhibitor have been investigated for carbon steel reinforcements in 0.6 M Cl^- contaminated simulated concrete pore solution (SCPS). Different electrochemical testing has been utilized including potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Mott-Schottky plots to test Na₃PO₄ at different concentrations: 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 M. It was found that Na₃PO₄ adsorbs on the surface through a combined physicochemical adsorption process, thus creating insoluble protective ferric phosphate film (FePO₄) and achieving an inhibition efficiency (IE) up to 91.7%. The formation of FePO₄ was elucidated by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Quantum chemical parameters using density functional theory (DFT) were obtained to further understand the chemical interactions at the interface. It was found that PO₄^3- ions have a low energy gap (ΔE_gap), hence facilitating their adsorption. Additionally, Mulliken population analysis showed that the oxygen atoms present in PO4^3- are strong nucleophiles, thus acting as adsorption sites.

Distribution Law of Corrosion Products in a Marine Chloride Environment

Steel corrosion is the main cause of reinforced concrete cracking. Conventionally, concrete is considered to crack when the circumferential tensile stress reaches the tensile strength of the concrete. However, few analyses have considered the fracture criteria of the internal cross-section of concrete. Based on the von Mises distribution of angle probabilities, this paper proposes a new probability distribution function for investigating the distribution law of corrosion products. The cracking process of experimental samples was numerically analyzed, and the results were consistent with those of the theoretical model. The effect of the dry–wet cycle ratio on the corrosion products was preliminarily investigated by microscopic observation of the reinforced concrete under different dry–wet cycle corrosion environments.

Electrochemical and DFT Study of NaNO2/NaNO3 Corrosion Inhibitor Blends for Rebar in Simulated Concrete Pore Solution

The use of nitrite- and nitrate-based inhibitors provides corrosion protection by the development of passive oxide film on the metal surface in reinforced concrete applications. However, the impact of the nitrite and nitrate ratio in the mixture has not been widely studied. In this study, the corrosion protection provided by NaNO2:NaNO3 inhibitor blends with ratios of 0.5:1, 1:1, and 1:0.5 were studied to maximize corrosion inhibition efficiency. The nitrite species imparted higher corrosion protection, as shown by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization, with an icorr of 1.16 × 10–7 A/cm2 for the 1:0.5 mixture, lower than for both the 1:1 and 0.5:1 mixtures. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was also performed, with the 1:0.5 mixture consistently displaying high resistance values, showing an Rct of 1.31 × 105 Ω cm2. The effect of temperature was also assessed; the Ea’s of the corrosion reaction were calculated to be 12.1, 9.2, and 4.9 kJ/mol for the 0.5:1, 1:1, and 1:0.5 (NO2−:NO3−) mixtures, respectively. Density functional theory was applied to analyze the molecular properties and to determine the relationship between the quantum properties and corrosion inhibition. The ΔE of NO2− was found to be −5.74 eV, lower than that of NO3− (−5.45 eV), corroborating the experimental results. Lastly, commercially available inhibitor mixtures were investigated and nitrite/nitrate concentrations determined to evaluate their corrosion protection performance; amongst the two inhibitor blends tested, Sika was found to outperform Yara due to its greater NO2− concentration.