Corrosion behaviour of copper under chloride-containing thin electrolyte layer

The corrosion behaviour of copper under chloride-containing thin electrolyte layers (TEL) was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cathodic polarization, linear polarization, SEM/EDS and XRD. The results indicate that the copper corrosion rate increases as TEL thickness decreases during the initial stages. After 192 h of immersion, the corrosion rate of copper under TEL in this order: 300 > 402 > 199 > bulk solution > 101 mu m. The corrosion behaviour is uniform under TEL and pitting is the primary corrosion type in the bulk solution. A corrosion model of the behaviour of copper under chloride-containing TEL is proposed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.