High temperature oxidation of metallic chromium exposed to eight different metal chlorides

► The corrosion behavior of chromium with eight chlorides was studied in detail. ► Presence of chlorine did not alone explain the initiation of accelerated oxidation. ► The reactivity and properties of the cation play a role in accelerated oxidation. ► PbCl2 behaved clearly differently at 600 °C compared to lower temperatures. ► PbCl2, LiCl, NaCl,and KCl reacted with Cr, whereas MgCl2, CaCl2, and BaCl2 did not.