Hot corrosion behaviour of Fe–Al based intermetallic in molten NaVO3 salt

The hot corrosion of sprayed Fe–40 (at.%)Al intermetallic alloy with additions of boron and alumina whiskers in molten NaVO3 at 700 °C has been evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS, techniques. For short exposure times, the corrosion mechanism under these conditions was observed to be controlled by an activation process, whereas for longer exposure times, the corrosion process was under diffusion control due to the growing of an Al2O3 oxide scale, which made the diffusion of both reducing and oxidizing species through the scale to the alloy or scale surfaces more difficult. Equivalent electric model used to simulate the EIS data showed that a finite length Warburg diffusion could properly characterize the diffusion process, which confirmed the formation of a compact corrosion product scales containing rich aluminium oxide. Thus, the corrosion process was under diffusion control of aggressive ions through the formed scale. The electrochemical study was complemented by scanning electronic microscopy characterization and micro chemical analysis.