CdTe/TiO2 nanocomposite material for photogenerated cathodic protection of 304 stainless steel

• The photoelectric properties of TiO2 could greatly improve by doping with CdTe.
• The cathodic protection property of the CdTe/TiO2 was superior to that of pure TiO2.
• The protective action of the CdTe/TiO2 for 304SS could be maintained in the dark.

TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated by the anodization method, and CdTe was deposited on them via electrochemical deposition method. The optimal performance of the CdTe/TiO2 composites was achieved via changing the acidity of the electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the surface morphology, elemental analysis and phase characteristics of the composite materials. Some electrochemical tests, such as open-circuit potential, current variation versus time were carried out to investigate the photogenerated cathodic protection of 304 stainless steel by CdTe/TiO2. The results indicated that the cathodic protection performance of the CdTe/TiO2 composite was superior to that of pure TiO2 in the wavelength of visible light. The CdTe/TiO2 composite exhibited optimal photogenerated cathodic protection properties under visible light for the corrosion potential of 304 stainless steel shifted negatively to −850 mV when the concentration of HCl in the deposition electrolyte was 1 mol/L.

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