Boron phosphide protective coatings for hazardous radioactive waste and geothermal power applications

A. A. Ogwu, T. Hellwig

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We investigated the corrosion susceptibility of Boron phosphide (BP) films deposited on stainless steel substrates by the plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) process, when exposed to concentrated brine solution. The BP films were characterized with the scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform Infra-red measurements (FTIR). The corrosion investigation involved open circuit potential (OCP) measurements for 20 hours, Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. We also evaluated the role of the polar/dispersive components of the surface energy of the films on the corrosion process. The relationship between the polar component of the surface energy, the electric surface potential Φ, obtained through the Poisson-Boltzmann equation using the Debye-Huckel approximation and the double layer capacitance, all related through the Zeta potential is used to explain the improved corrosion resistance of the BP films. This creates an opportunity to prepare tailor-made corrosion resistant films during plasma processing. The results of our investigation indicates that the BP coatings could provide substantial additional corrosion protection for stainless steels, when used in extreme application areas like hazardous radioactive waste containers and geothermal brine containing environments against chloride attack.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8299-8319
Number of pages21
JournalInternational Journal of Electrochemical Science
Volume9
Issue number12
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electrochemistry

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