Initial corrosion observed on the atomic scale

Skin deep Electrochemical corrosion creates problems for engineers, and destroys over 3% of the world's GDP. But decomposition processes can be useful too, for example in the formation of porous metals. For good or ill, a deeper understanding of the processes underlying the structural changes induced by corrosion should lead to its greater control. Now Renner et al. have used highly brilliant synchrotron radiation to observe the first stage of corrosion of an alloy at the atomic level for the first time. Among other structural insights, their work reveals the formation of a thin layer involved in passivation, a previously rather mysterious mechanism by which the surface of the material is rendered inactive.