Corrosion behaviour and structure of the surface layer formed on austempered ductile iron in concentrated sulphuric acid

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the structure of the surface layer formed on austempered ductile iron (ADI) after exposure to hot concentrated sulphuric acid at the open circuit potential value (OCP). The results derived from polarization measurements carried out in sulphuric acid at a temperature of 90 °C show that anodic dissolution of ADI is divided into three stages (corresponding to three anodic dissolution peaks). The structure of the layer formed on alloys at 90 °C at OCP was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM analysis shows that the main elements of the surface layer are iron, silicon, oxygen, sulphur, and carbon. The binding energy recorded in individual bands indicates that the surface layer includes mainly SiO2 and FeOOH. The presence of sulphur at the lower oxidation state (S2−) indicates that sulphuric acid undergoes reduction during this process. The corrosion resistance of these alloys is connected with the presence of SiO2 in the surface layer.