The influence of nanocrystalline structure and processing route on corrosion of stainless steel: A review

Nanocrystalline materials with a grain size <100 nm have attracted significant attention over the past two decades. Various attempts have been made to prepare nanocrystalline stainless steel using various routes, along with the study of attendant corrosion properties. A nanocrystalline structure imparts an improvement in mechanical properties, coupled with distinct corrosion behaviour, not always leading to better corrosion resistance. This paper reviews the relevant works to date which have studied corrosion behaviour of nanocrystalline stainless steels, relating the performance to processing, along with attention given to mechanistic aspects which dictate corrosion of nanocrystalline stainless steel.