Stress corrosion cracking of copper and silver, specific effect of the metal cations

Abstract Based on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) studies on brass, and on Ag–Cd alloys (a model alloy used to reproduce the behaviour of brass), it was found that both pure copper and pure silver are susceptible to SCC in 1 M copper(II) nitrate and in 1 M silver nitrate aqueous solutions, at the equilibrium potentials for the reactions: Cu 2+ +2e − ↔Cu and Ag + +e − ↔Ag, respectively. The results were analysed under the light of recent developments in surface science. It was concluded that the same SCC mechanism that operates in brass and in Ag–Cd alloys should be operating during SCC of pure copper and pure silver, under equivalent experimental conditions.