Module 3 Corrosion Notes New PDF
Module 3 Corrosion Notes New PDF
of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
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Dept. of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
Reaction at anodic region: At anode metal is oxidized to metal ion by liberating electrons.
Thus corrosion takes place at anodic region.
M → Mn+ + ne-
During rusting of iron: At anode iron is oxidized to ferrous ion.
Fe → Fe2+ +2e-
The electrons from anodic region migrate towards cathodic region constituting corrosion
current.
Reaction at cathodic region: At cathode, reduction takes place. The species in the medium
undergoes reduction by gaining electrons. Following types of reactions are possible
depending on the type of the medium:
I] In the absence of oxygen. : It occurs in the absence of oxygen. It is called Hydrogen evolution
type.
a) If the solution is acidic, hydrogen gas is evolved at cathode.
2H+ + 2e- → H2↑
b) If solution is neutral or basic,
2H2O + 2e- → 2OH- + H2↑
II] In the presence of oxygen. : This takes place in the presence of oxygen. It is called Oxygen
absorption type.
1) If the solution is acidic, water is formed.
4H ++ O2 + 4e- → 2H2O
2) If solution is neutral or basic or neutral, hydroxide ions are formed.
H2O + 1/2 O2 + 2e- → 2 OH-
The species formed at anode and cathode combine to give corrosion product.
The OH- ions formed at cathode and Fe2+ ions formed at anode reacts to give ferrous hydroxide.
Fe2+ + 2 OH- → Fe (OH)2
In the presence of sufficient oxygen it is oxidized to hydrated ferric oxide, which is nothing but
rust.
2 Fe (OH)2 +1/2 O2+2 H2O → Fe2O3. 3H2O
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Dept. of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
TYPES OF CORROSION
Differential Metal Corrosion (Galvanic Corrosion / Bimetallic Corrosion)
This occurs when two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other in corrosive medium.
The difference in the electrode potential of two metals is the driving force for corrosion.
Due to this difference in electrode potential a galvanic cell is formed.
The more active metal i.e metal with lower electrode potential acts as anode hence undergoes
corrosion. (e.g metals like Zn, Mg ) The less active metal with higher electrode potential acts as
cathode and is free from corrosion.
Higher the difference in the potential of metals higher is the rate of galvanic corrosion.
e.g. When iron is connected with zinc, zinc undergoes corrosion, as it has low electrode potential
than iron.
Zn
corrosion
whereas when iron is connected with copper iron undergoes corrosion as it has low electrode
potential than copper.
.
Corrosion
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This takes place due to the formation of oxygen concentration cell. Less oxygenated portion acts
as anode acts as anode and undergoes corrosion while more oxygenated portion acts as cathode
and is not corroded.
e. g When water is stored in a metallic tank , floating ship water line corrosion is observed. It is
observed that corrosion takes place along the line just below the level of water in the container
or ship. The area above water is more oxygenated , acts as cathode. Area below water is less
oxygenated, acts as anode. Therefore area below Water is corroded and area above water is
protected. Hence a distinct brown line is formed below the water line due to corrosion.
CORROSION CONTROL:
Corrosion can be controlled by preventing the formation of galvanic cell.
There are various ways by which corrosion can be controlled. They are,
1. Protective coatings:
A ).Metallic coatings:
In this method protective metal is coated on the surface of the metal which can be done by
electroplating, flame spray, hot dipping etc.
Galvanisation:
It is the process of anodic coating in which base metal like iron / steel is coated with zinc.
Since zinc has low electrode potential it acts as anode and base metal iron acts as cathode.
Zinc coating being anode undergoes corrosion preventing corrosion of iron.
Process of galvanization consists of following steps:
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4. The electrolytic bath contains an oxidizing medium like sulphuric acid ,phosphoric acid,
chromic acid, oxalic acid or boric acid.
5. Sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, chromic acid & oxalic acid results in porous anodized
coating where as Boric acid is preferred for non porous anodized coating.
6. On passing current the oxide film of sufficient thickness is formed on the base metal. These
oxide coatings act as barrier between base metal and corrosive medium thus prevents the
corrosion.
2Al+ 3H2O Al2O3 + 3H2
7. Anodising offers increased corrosion resistance and attractive finish to the surface.
8. Anodised aluminium is used in hardware, escalators, window frames etc.
2. Cathodic protection:
It is a technique of protecting a metal from corrosion by converting it to cathode. Being cathode
base metal is prevented from corrosion. Base metal can be made cathode by sacrificial anodic
method
Sacrificial Anodic Method
In this method, metal to be protected is converted into cathode using sacrificial anodes.
It is done by connecting base metal with another metal having lower electrode potential..
Thus base metal becomes cathode and metal with low potential acts as anode.
Anode being more reactive undergoes corrosion, where as the base metallic structure is
unaffected.
Since anode is sacrificed to prevent the corrosion of anode, It is called sacrificial anode method. e.g
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1) A magnesium block connected buried oil storage tank acts as sacrificial anode, and prevents the
tank from corrosion.
2) When Magnesium blocks are connected to the sides of the ship, it acts as anode, prevents ship
from corrosion.
3) Magnesium blocks connected to buried pipelines prevents structure from corrosion , by acting
as anode.
The speed at which any metal in a specific environment deteriorates due to a chemical reaction
when it is exposed to a corrosive environment.CPR is given by
K W
CPR =
DA T
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Dept. of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
These are the electrodes whose potentials are known and are used for the determination of the
potentials of other electrodes can be measured. They are classified in to primary and secondary
reference electrodes
1. Primary reference electrode; it is Standard hydrogen electrode, whose potential is arbitrarily
taken as zero. The potentials of other electrodes are assigned with respect to it. e.g SHE(standard
hydrogen electrode)
2. Secondary reference electrode: Because of the difficulties involved in the use of standard
hydrogen electrode as reference electrode, some other electrodes with constant electrode potential
are used to find the potentials of other electrodes. The potential of secondary reference electrode
is constant which is determined with reference to Standard hydrogen electrode. e.g Calomel
electrode, Silver-silver chloride electrode.
Construction and working of Calomel electrode (mercury- mercurous chloride electrode)
Construction:
It is a metal-metal insoluble salt electrode in which mercury is in contact with mercurous chloride
in potassium chloride solution.
Construction:
1. It consists of a glass tube, bottom of which small amount of mercury is placed.
2. It is covered with a paste of mercury and mercurous chloride (calomel)
3. Remaining portion of the tube is filled by solution of potassium chloride
(saturated/1M/0.1M) through side tube (acts as salt bridge).
4. A platinum wire fused to glass tube is dipped in mercury to have electric contact.
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Electrode is represented as
Hg| Hg2Cl2| Cl-
(l) (s) (aq)
working:
1. The test electrode (e.g., Zn2+/Zn) is coupled with a calomel electrode.
2. The emf of cell is measured using volt meter.
3. The potential of a calomel electrode remains constant for a given concentration of KCl.
Hence using the formula Ecell= ECathode-Eanode , Potential of test electrode can be
determined
Calomel electrode can act as cathode or anode depending on the nature of electrode.
When it acts as anode;
2 Hg → Hg22+ + 2e-
Hg22+ 2e- →2 Hg
Hg2Cl2+2e-→2 Hg+2Cl-
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Working:
When the glass electrode is dipped in a test solution the Na+ ions of the glass membrane are
exchanged for H+ ions of the test solution.
The boundary potential Eb is developed across the glass membrane which is due to the differences
in H+ ion concentration inside and outside the glass bulb.
i.e Eb = E1-E2
Eb= 0.0591 log C1 - 0.0591 log C2
where C1 is the concentration of the H+ ions into which the glass electrode is dipped. C2 is the
concentration inside the glass bulb which is a constant
Eb= constant+0.0591 log C1
Eb= constant + 0.0591 log [H+]
Eb= K-0.0591 pH (Since, pH= -log[H+] )
But potential of glass electrode EG has three components. They are:
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i) Boundary potential-Eb
ii) Potential of Ag-AgCl electrode-EAg-AgCl
iii) Small asymmetric potential-Easy
Hence, EG= Eb +EAg|AgCl + Easy
Where Easy is small asymmetric potential due to difference in the response of inner and outer
surface of the glass tube to changes in H+ ion concentration.
EG = K-0.0591 pH +E Ag|AgCl + Easy (Since, Eb= K-0.0591 pH)
Since K, E Ag|AgCl and Eassy are constant for a particular glass material,
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EG0 is calculated by dipping glass electrode in solution of known pH.and by calculating the emf by
coupling with calomel electrode
Applications:
Ion selective electrodes are used in determining
(i) The concentration of a number of cations such as H+ , Li+, Na+, K+, Ag+, NH4+, Cd2+, Pb2+,
Cu2+, Ca2+ and hardness [Ca2+ + Mg2+].
(ii) The concentration of anions such as F-, NO3-, CN-, S2- and halide ions.
(iii) The pH of a solution using glass electrode (H+ ion-selective electrode)
(iv) The concentration of gas using gas sensing electrodes. For example, an electrode which
measures the level of CO2 in blood samples makes use of glass electrode in contact with
a very thin CO2 permeable silicone rubber membrane soaked in a dilute solution of
sodium bicarbonate.
Concentration cells:
A concentration cell is an electrochemical cell in which both the anode and cathode are made up of
same element in contact with solutions of the same electrolyte, but of different concentrations.
e.g Cu |Cu2+|| Cu2+|Cu
(C1) (C2)
where c1 and c2 are molar concentrations of electrolytes present.
Expression for EMF of concentration cell:
Consider a copper concentration cell, made up of copper electrodes dipped in copper sulphate
(electrolyte) solutions of concentrations C1 (lower) and C2 (higher). The Cu electrode which is in
contact with lower concentration (C1) of the electrolyte acts as anode where oxidation occurs and
dissolution occurs. The Cu electrode which is in contact with higher concentration (C2) of the
electrolyte acts as cathode where reduction occurs and deposition of Cu occurs. The emf so
developed is due to the mere transference of metal ions from the solution of higher concentration
(C2) to the solution of lower concentration (C1).
Reactions:
At anode Cu → Cu2+ +2e-
(C1)
At cathode Cu2+ +2e- → Cu
(C2)
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--------------------------
Cell reaction : Cu2+ Cu2+
(C2) (C1)
-------------------------
Analytical technique
Conductometry:
principle
Conductometric estimation is based on “ohm’s law”. Ohm’s law states that the current “ I” flowing
through a conductor is directly proportional to the applied potential “E “ and inversely
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I = E
R
K= 1 ( l )
R a
K= C ( l )
a
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Conductance
Neutralization point
Volume of NaOH
Procedure: Pipette out 50 cm3 of given weak acid into a beaker. The conductivity cell is dipped in
the in beaker containing weak acid. Conductivity cell connected to conductance measuring
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device. Initial conductance is measured. Add 0.5 cm3 NaOH from a burette and solution is stirred
with stirrer. The conductance is measured after the addition of theNaOH at intervals of 0.5cm3
.The graph of conductance is plotted verses volume of NaOH added. From the graph end point of
the titration is obtained.
Calculation:
Normality of NaOH= N
Volume of NaOH required for neutralisation=V cm3
(N X V)NaOH
Normality of CH3COOH NCH3COOH =
50
= x60 g
POTENTIOMETRY:
Potentiometry is an instrumental methods of analysis used to determine the concentration of
substance in a solution by measuring the potential difference between two electrode dipped in the
solution and combined to form a galvanic cell”. Then potential is given by Nernst equation
0.0591 oXidised form
E =Eo+ log [ ]
n Reduced form
E˚ is the standard potential of the system. The potential is controlled by the ratio of concentration
of oxidised form to that of reduced species present. As the reaction proceeds ration of the species
changes hence potential changes more rapidly near vicinity of the end point.
Instrumentation:
Potentiometer consists of a reference electrode, an indicator electrode, and a device for measuring
the potential. Calomel electrode is used as reference electrode and Pt electrode is used as indicator
electrode. Change in potential due to change in concentration during titration is detected by
indicator electrode. A known volume of the solution is taken in a beaker and its potential is
determined by connecting the calomel electrode and Pt electrode to a potentiometer. The titrant is
added in increment of 0.5 ml and the potential is measured each time. Close to the equivalence
point there is a sharp increase in the potential. A few reading are taken beyond the end point.
Equivalence point can be located by plotting ΔE /ΔV against volume of the titrant added. A simple
arrangement of potentiometric titration is as shown in fig.
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ΔE
ΔV
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Dept. of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
Beyond the equivalence point all the Fe+2 ions are converted to Fe+3 ions, potential are
determined by Cr+6/ Cr+3system. The potential is given by (Where E˚=1.33)
E = E0 + 0.0591 log [ Cr+6]
6 [Cr+3]
This redox electrode has a much larger potential than the previous redox electrode. Therefore
equivalence point of the titration there is a steep rise in emf which helps to locate equivalence point
in titration.
Procedure:
Pipette out 25 cm3 of FAS solution is taken in a beaker add 2 test of dil H2SO4 and its potential is
measured by connecting the calomel electrode and Pt electrode to a potentiometer. Then add 0.5
cm3 K2Cr2O7 and then record the potential. Continue the addition of 0.5 cm 3 K2Cr2O7 each time and
then record the potential. Close to the equivalence point there is a sharp increase in the potential.
A few reading are taken beyond the end point. Equivalence point can be located by plotting ΔE /ΔV
against volume of the titrant added. A simple arrangement of potentiometric titration is as shown
in fig
ΔE
ΔV
V
Volume of K2Cr2O7
Calculation:
Normality of K2Cr2O7 = N
Volume of K2Cr2O7 required =V cm3
(N X V) K2Cr2O7
Normality of FAS NFAS =
25
Therefore Weight of FAS per liter = (N x Eq. Wt )FAS
= x392
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Dept. of Chemistry/PACE/Mangalore (22CHES12/22)
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
1. Define metallic corrosion? Describe the electrochemical theory of corrosion taking iron as an
example.
2. What are metallic coatings? Write a note on galvanization.
3. What is cathodic protection? How a metal is cathodically protected by sacrificial anodic
method.
4. What are anodizing? Explain the process of anodizing?
5. Explain: (i) Differential metal corrosion (ii) Water-line corrosion iii) Differential aeration
corrosion
6. Describe galvanizing and mention its applications
7. Discuss sacrificial anode method of corrosion control.
8. What is CPR? A thick brass sheet of area 400 inch 2 is exposed to moist air. After 2 years of
period, it was found to experience a weight loss 375 g due to corrosion. If the density of brass
is 8.73 g/cm3. Calculate CPR in mpy and mmpy
9. What is reference electrode? Explain the construction and working of Calomel electrode
10. What is ion selective electrode? Explain the construction and working of ion selective electrode
electrode
11. What are concentration cell? The cell potential of copper concentration cell Cu/CuSO4(0.005 M)//
CuSO4(X M) /Cu is 0.0295 V at 25˚C calculate the value of X
12. Explain the application of conductometry is estimation of weak acid
13. Explain the application of potentiometer is estimation of iron
14. Explain the theory and instrumentation conductometry
15. Explain the theory and instrumentation potentiometry
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