The inhibition of pitting corrosion of stainless steels by chromate and molybdate ions

The inhibitive effects of chromate and molybdate on pitting corrosion in stainless steel AISI 304 and AISI 316 were studied in acidified chloride solution. The results presented show that these known inhibitors affect both the nucleation of pitting and metastable pitting by reducing the numbers and sizes of these events. This makes attainment of stable pit growth more difficult. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.