The role of the photovoltaic effect of γ-FeOOH and β-FeOOH on the corrosion of 09CuPCrNi weathering steel under visible light

• The synthesized FeOOH possesses n-type semiconductor property.
• The current between FeOOH and 09CuPCrNi under light was quantitatively evaluated.
• Photovoltaic effect of γ-FeOOH and β-FeOOH accelerates the corrosion of 09CuPCrNi.
• Heterojunction electric field of FeOOH mixture increases the photovoltaic effect.

A model experimental set-up was used to investigate the role of the photovoltaic effect of the synthesized corrosion products of γ-FeOOH and β-FeOOH on the corrosion of 09CuPCrNi weathering steel (WS) under visible light. The photovoltaic effect of γ-FeOOH and β-FeOOH accelerates the corrosion of 09CuPCrNi WS under visible light and the contribution of the photovoltaic effect on the corrosion can be quantitatively evaluated based on the photoinduced current densities data. The research method employed in this work can be acted as a model test for the similar investigations in spite of the limitations.