Corrosion studies of copper in acidic and basic environments

Using quantum electrochemical approaches based on density functional theory and cluster/polarized continuum model, we investigated the corrosion behavior of copper in HCl and NaOH media. In this regard, we determined the geometry of the aggressive agents at metal surface and the interaction energies were calculated. The obtained energies were used to compare the corrosion behavior of these molecules for copper corrosion in this media. The investigations revealed that the interaction energies of hydroxide corrosive agents with copper surface should be more negative than those of chloride ones. Therefore we studied the phenomena from experimental viewpoint. The studies confirmed that the rate of corrosion in alkaline solution is substantially greater than in HCl media

Keywords:

copper corrosion , cluster model , quantum chemical calculations