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Why stainless steel corrodes

Author

Listed:
  • Mary P. Ryan

    (Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine)

  • David E. Williams

    (University College London)

  • Richard J. Chater

    (Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine)

  • Bernie M. Hutton

    (University College London)

  • David S. McPhail

    (Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine)

Abstract

Stainless steels are used in countless diverse applications for their corrosion resistance. Although they have extremely good general resistance, they are nevertheless susceptible to pitting corrosion. This localized dissolution of an oxide-covered metal in specific aggressive environments is one of the most common and catastrophic causes of failure of metallic structures. The pitting process has been described as random, sporadic and stochastic and the prediction of the time and location of events remains extremely difficult1. Many contested models of pitting corrosion exist, but one undisputed aspect is that manganese sulphide inclusions play a critical role. Indeed, the vast majority of pitting events are found to occur at, or adjacent to, such second-phase particles2,3. Chemical changes in and around sulphide inclusions have been postulated4 as a mechanism for pit initiation but such variations have never been measured. Here we use nanometre-scale secondary ion mass spectroscopy to demonstrate a significant reduction in the Cr:Fe ratio of the steel matrix around MnS particles. These chromium-depleted zones are susceptible to high-rate dissolution that ‘triggers’ pitting. The implications of these results are that materials processing conditions control the likelihood of corrosion failures, and these data provide a basis for optimizing such conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary P. Ryan & David E. Williams & Richard J. Chater & Bernie M. Hutton & David S. McPhail, 2002. "Why stainless steel corrodes," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6873), pages 770-774, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:415:y:2002:i:6873:d:10.1038_415770a
    DOI: 10.1038/415770a
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    Cited by:

    1. Ramaraj Sukanya & Tara N. Barwa & Yiran Luo & Eithne Dempsey & Carmel B. Breslin, 2022. "Emerging Layered Materials and Their Applications in the Corrosion Protection of Metals and Alloys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Shucai Zhang & Hao Feng & Huabing Li & Zhouhua Jiang & Tao Zhang & Hongchun Zhu & Yue Lin & Wei Zhang & Guoping Li, 2023. "Design for improving corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steels by wrapping inclusions with niobium armour," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Shohini Sen-Britain & Seongkoo Cho & ShinYoung Kang & Zhen Qi & Saad Khairallah & Debra Rosas & Vanna Som & Tian T. Li & S. Roger Qiu & Y. Morris Wang & Brandon C. Wood & Thomas Voisin, 2024. "Critical role of slags in pitting corrosion of additively manufactured stainless steel in simulated seawater," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Chengbin Jin & Yiyu Huang & Lanhang Li & Guoying Wei & Hongyan Li & Qiyao Shang & Zhijin Ju & Gongxun Lu & Jiale Zheng & Ouwei Sheng & Xinyong Tao, 2023. "A corrosion inhibiting layer to tackle the irreversible lithium loss in lithium metal batteries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Yang Yang & Weiyue Zhou & Sheng Yin & Sarah Y. Wang & Qin Yu & Matthew J. Olszta & Ya-Qian Zhang & Steven E. Zeltmann & Mingda Li & Miaomiao Jin & Daniel K. Schreiber & Jim Ciston & M. C. Scott & John, 2023. "One dimensional wormhole corrosion in metals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.

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