Corrosion of metal in vinegar, detergent

and water
Introduction:
Corrosion is the deterioration a material undergoes as a result of its
interaction with its surroundings. Although this definition is applicable to any
type of material, it is usually reserved for metallic alloys . Of the 105 known
chemical elements, approximately eighty are metals , and about half of
these can be alloyed with other metals, giving rise to more than 40,000
different alloys. Each of the alloys will have different physical, chemical, and
mechanical properties, but all of them can corrode to some extent, and in
different ways.
Corrosion is a natural phenomenon. When newly made steel is first
exposed to the air, its originally shiny surface will be covered with rust in a
few hours. The tendency of metals to corrode is related to the low stability
of the metallic state. Metals occur either in the pure metallic state, the
zero oxidation state, or in the form of compounds with other elements
(they acquire positive states of oxidation). In the natural world, most metals
are found as compounds with other elements, indicating the greater stability
of their oxidized forms. For this reason, to obtain the pure metal from one of
its compounds, it is necessary to put in energy. The reverse is true when a
metal is exposed to its environment: it tends to release this stored energy
through the processes of corrosion. This is rather analogous to what
happens when an object is suspended at a point above the ground
(equivalent to the metallic state). When allowed to fall or reach a stable
state, it returns to a position of minimum energy on the ground (equivalent
to the metal's oxidized state).
The chemical reactions that take place in corrosion processes
are reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions. Such reactions require a species

of material that is oxidized (the metal), and another that is reduced (the
oxidizing agent). Thus the complete reaction can be divided into two partial
reactions: one, oxidation; the other, reduction. In oxidation, the metal loses
electrons. The zone in which this happens is known as the anode. In the
reduction reaction, the oxidizing agent gains the electrons that have been
shed by the metal, and the zone in which this happens is the cathode .
Corrosion processes not only influence the chemical properties of a
metal but also generate changes in its physical properties and its
mechanical behavior. This is why the effects of corrosion are manifested in
a variety of forms. The most common form is uniform corrosion, whereby
there is a generalized, overall "attack" of the entire exposed surface of the
metal, leading to a more or less uniform reduction in the thickness of the
affected metal. In contrast, there is the process of localized corrosion, in
which an intense attack takes place only in and around particular zones of
the metal, leaving the rest of the metal unaffected; an example is pitting
corrosion. Some other forms of corrosion are stress corrosion
cracking, galvanic corrosion, selective alloy breakdown, intergranular
corrosion, fatigue, friction, erosion, cavitation, hydrogen enbrittlement,
biocorrosion, and high temperature oxidation.
It is easy to find everyday objects that show signs of corrosion. A
used automobile consists essentially of different metals, plastics, paints,
metallic coatings, and so forth, which have been exposed to a variety of
aggressive conditions. These materials are exposed to the action of
atmospheric agents under conditions of high temperature, are incorporated
in closed water circuits, or are subject to mechanical wear. As a result, we
see many signs of corrosion in cars, chiefly on the bodywork and in the
exhaust system, and especially after years of use.
The sea and the salty atmosphere are saline media that are highly
aggressive to metals. Marine structures such as ships, bridges, and drilling

rigs and platforms usually show signs of severe corrosion unless they have
been properly protected. Cars kept near oceans show signs of corrosion.
Alloys of copper used in the casting of sculptures, and used externally on
some buildings, usually show a greenish coloring that corresponds to a
layer of corrosion product known as copper patina that gives some
protection against further corrosion.
The degradation of reinforced concrete in buildings is commonly
caused by the corrosion of the steel reinforcing bars within the concrete,
rather than by the loss of the mechanical properties of concrete.
Corrosion processes affect many areas of human activity in which
metal products are used. In general, as levels of economic development
increase, so do costs incurred as a result of corrosion. It is estimated that
the costs attributable to the corrosion of metallic materials amount to 4
percent of the gross domestic product of the developed countries. And this
cost, representing a loss of resources, would be even higher if methods of
protection against corrosion were not so widely applied. It is estimated that
because of this protection, populations are able to reduce these potential
losses by a factor of about 30 percent.
Many methods for preventing or reducing corrosion exist, most of
them orientated in one way or another toward slowing rates of corrosion. A
series of methods that are based on depositing a layer of a second material
on the surface of a metal structure to impede the structure's contact with an
aggressive medium have been developed. The most prevalent of these is
painting, and a wide range of protective paints is now available. As a
general estimate, for every 100 m 2 of exposed metal surface, paint is
applied to 90 m 2 . Included among these surface covering methods are
metallic surface treatments, such as chrome, nickel, and galvanized
coatings, and inorganic treatments, such as chromates, anodizing coatings,
and phosphate coatings.

Another method of protection uses inhibitors, which are substances

added to the liquid medium, again to reduce rates of
corrosion. Antifreeze liquids utilized in the cooling circuits of vehicle
engines have inhibitor agents incorporated into their formulations in order to
reduce corrosion problems.
Cathodic protection is an anticorrosion technique widely used in ships
and in buried or submerged pipe work. This method seeks to reduce the
rate of corrosion of the structure to be protected by joining it to "sacrificial"
anodes. In other words, the structure is joined to another metal (an anode)
that corrodes more readily, effectively diverting the tendency to corrode
away from the structure.
As an alternative to using metals that must be protected by one or other of
the methods described, engineers often have an option to use an alloy
selected for having a greater resistance to corrosion caused by its
surroundings. But better corrosion resistance usually comes at a higher
materials and/or manufacturing cost. Engineers must take into account that
the corrosion resistance of any alloy depends on both the medium and the
working conditions. Hence, alloys with good resistance in one environment
may have poor resistance in another, and their resistance is also likely to
vary according to differences in exposure conditions, such as temperature
or stress.

Previous Research
The previous researcher had carried out a research on pitting. Pitting is a
form of localized corrosion and is characterized by attack at small discrete spots on
the steel surface. Pitting occurs mainly in the presence of neutral or acidic

solutions containing chlorides or other halides. Chloride ion facilitate a local

breakdown of the passive layer, especially if there are imperfections in the metal
surface.
Many engineering alloys, such as stainless steels and Al alloys, are useful
only because of passive films, which are thin (nm scale), oxide layers that form
naturally on the metal surface and greatly reduce the rate of corrosion of the alloys,
such passive films ,however, are often susceptible to localized breakdown resulting
in accelerated dissolution of underlying metal. If the attack initiated on an open
surface, it is called pitting corrosion; at an occulded site it is called crevice
corrosion.
Common pits are divided in to two groups:
Through pits
1.
2.
3.
4.

Narrow deep
Shallow, wide
Elliptical
Vertical grain attack

Sideway Pits
1. Subsurface
2. Undercutting
3. Horizontal grain attack
There are few characteristic of pitting:
a. Difficult to detect
Small in size
Covered by corrosion products
Undercut surface, damage to sub-surfaces are severe.
Initiation/ incubation period uncertain
b. Difficult to measure/ compare
Depth of penetration
c. Difficult to predict
Requires long time to initiate
d. Vicious
Highly localized
Intense attack

 Equipment fails with extreme suddenness

Alloy Effects
The alloy composition and microstructure can have strong effects on the
tendency for an alloy to pit. The pitting potential was also found to increase
dramatically as the Cr content increased from above the critical 13% value needed
to create stainless steel. However, increasing the concentration of Ni which
stabilize the austenitic phase, moderately improves the pitting resistance of Fe-Cr
Since Al is a very active and reactive metal, the homogenous addition of
almost any metal (except Mg and Zn) into Al alloys results in an increase in pitting
potential [40-45]. The pitting potential of binary Al-Cu alloys increased with Cu
concentration as long as the Cu was in solid solution. Since the equilibrium
solubility in Al of many metals is exceedingly small, other alloying additions tend
to generate second phase intermetallic particles. However, using rapid quenching
preparation techniques, such as physical vapor decomposition ( e.g. sputter
deposition), it is possible to alloy Al homogenous with a wide range of elements.
Pits almost always initiate at some chemical or physical heterogeneity at the
surface such as an inclusion, second phase, solute- segregated grain boundaries,
flaws, mechanical damage or dislocations. Most engineering alloys have many or
all of such defects, and pits will tend to form at the most-suspectible sites first. Pits
in stainless steels are often associated with MnS inclusions, which are found in
most commercial steels. The role of MnS inclusions on promoting the breakdown
and localized corrosion of stainless steels has been recognized for some time. The
explanations have focused on dissolution products of the sulfides. It has been
suggested that sulfides oxidize to form sulphate and acid, element sulfur, or
thiosulphate, and also that they chemically dissolve to form H2S. a recent analysis
of crevice solutions found that sulfide was the predominant sulfur-containing
species with some sulfite forming in well- established crevices many different
forms of Sulphur can decrease the pitting potential of stainless steel in chloride
solutions, and it has been suggested that sulfur can enrich at the surface to lower
the activation energy for dissolution and inhibit passivation.
Pits in Al alloys are typically associated with intermetallic particles. As
described above, Cu additions to Al resulted in improvements in pitting resistance
when the Cu was in solid solution. However, when particles of the intermetallic Q
phase (Al2Cu) formed, the resistance to pitting decreased back to the range of Al

alloyed with little Cu. The formation of GP zones had no effect on pitting potential
in that study. On the other hand, another study found that microsegregation of Cu
and Fe impurities at node in high-purity Al was sufficient to increase the tendency
for pitting corrosion at open circuit. The decrease in pitting potential with
formation of Q phase was explained by the existence of a Cu-depleted region near
the particles. This region would have a lower pitting potential, so pits would tend
to form there first.
Temperature is also a critical factor in pitting corrosion since many materials will
not pit at a temperature below a certain value, which may be extremely sharp and
reproducible. This effect can be seen either by varying the temperature at a range
of fixed applied potentials, or varying the potential for a range of constant
temperature experiments. At low temperatures, extremely high breakdown
potentials are observed, corresponding to transpassive dissolution, not localized
corrosion. Just above the critical pitting temperature (CPT), pitting corrosion
occurs at a potential that is far below the transpassive breakdown potential. This
value pf CPT is independent of environmental parameters and applied potential
over a wide range, and is a measure of the resistance to stable pit propagation. At
higher temperatures, the pitting potential decreases with the increasing temperature
and chloride concentration. Pit initiation considerations play a role in this region. It
has been suggested by Laycock and Newman that the CPT is associated with the
dual role of a salt film in either stabilizing pit growth by providing a buffer solute
(At high temperature) or facilitating repassivation( at low temperature) as has been
discussed in detail by Beck.
Objective:
To study different speed of corrosion of same metal in different
type of solvent.
To study different speed of corrosion of different metal in same
type of solvent.
To study prevention of corrosion of metal by using painting in
different type of solvent.
To study prevention of corrosion of metal using greese in different
type of solvent

Methodology
The materials required for the science fair project experiment:

Materials
9 silver sheets (cut to 1cm x 1cm)
9 aluminum sheets (cut to 1cm x1cm)
9 zinc sheets (cut to 1cm x1cm)
Apparatus
27test tubes
Tap water, detergent, vinegar
sand paper
test tube racks
paint
greese
measuring cylinder