Substitution of the constant phase element by Warburg impedance for protective coatings

This paper proposes an alternative model for fitting electrochemical impedance spectra of protective coatings. It describes broadening of the semicircle in the complex plane, in the absence of corrosion reactions. In addition the infinite Warburg impedance circuit element is represented, which bridges existing parallel elements of the plate capacitor and resistor of a classical equivalent electrical circuit. The Warburg impedance element is the result of the Fick's second law on partial differential equation solution. The proposed model and, for comparison the model with the CPE element, are used on our epoxy protective system to describe EIS measurements. The proposed model shows a better quality of fitting for our EIS data in comparison to the model with CPE. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.