Electrochemical tests applied to corrosion studies

IPT´s Laboratory for Corrosion and Protection has modern equipment for electrochemical tests which includes potentiostats, frequency analyzers and zero resistance amperimeters for traditional measurements (polarization curves, impedance spectrocopy, RPL, electrochemical noise).

The Lab is also supplied with equipment for localized electrochemical techniques such as:

• Scanning Kelvin Probe – SKP: used for the evaluation of electrochemical activity under nonconductive coatings, for the identification of anodic and cathodic sites on alloys and for verifying the effectiveness of corrosion inhibitor films;

• Localized Impedance Spectroscopy – LEIS: the localized impedance spectroscopy has the same capacity as EIS to obtain information about corrosion mechanisms. However, it has higher special resolution (order of few mm2). A fundamental requirement for the LEIS device is the measurement of the local current density in the close vicinity of the interface under investigation by means of a probe consisting of two metallic wires, the dimension of which may usually vary from few micrometers to tens of micrometers in diameter. One of the most used applications of LEIS aims at assessing degradation mechanisms of coatings applied on metals;

• Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique – SVET: for studies of corrosion processes with very low current densities. This technique measures the intensity of local currents in active surfaces immersed in an electrolyte, identifying cathodic and anodic areas.

• Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy – SECM: for in-situ studies of electrochemical reactions on metal surfaces.

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