Effects of grain size on the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Fe coatings in alkaline solution

Effect of grain size reduction on the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of nanocrystalline Fe was investigated using Tafel polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Nanocrystalline iron was fabricated by pulse electrodeposition using citric acid bath. The grain size of a nanocrystalline surface was analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The corrosion resistance of Fe in alkaline solution considerably increased as the grain size decreased from microcrystalline to nanocrystalline. The behaviour of passive film growth and corrosion was discussed in terms of excess of free energy caused by nanocrystalline surface.