Influence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021 on the corrosion behaviour of 70Cu–30Ni alloy in seawater

• Biomolecules lead to a mixed oxide layer composed of CuO, Cu2O, and Ni(OH)2.
• In the presence of EPS, the adsorbed organic layer is mainly composed of proteins.
• A model is proposed to analyse electrochemical impedance diagrams plotted at Ecorr.
• BSA, TB EPS and LB EPS slow down the anodic reaction (kinetic effect).
• A corrosion inhibition effect and a low oxide layer thickness are shown with LB EPS.

Copper alloys, often used in cooling circuits of industrial plants using seawater as coolant, can be affected by biocorrosion induced by biofilm formation. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by bacteria play a fundamental role in the different stages of biofilm formation, maturation and maintenance. The influence of loosely bound (LB) and tightly bound (TB) EPS, extracted from marine Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021, on the electrochemical behaviour of 70Cu–30Ni (wt.%) alloy in static artificial seawater (ASW) and on the chemical composition of oxide layers was studied by combined electrochemical measurements (polarization curves, EIS) and surface analysis (XPS, ToF-SIMS). Results were compared with those obtained in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein. Compared to 70Cu–30Ni alloy in static ASW without biomolecules, for which a thick duplex oxide layer (outer redeposited Cu2O layer and inner oxidized nickel layer) is shown, the presence of BSA, TB EPS and LB EPS leads to a mixed oxide layer (oxidized copper and nickel) with a lower thickness. In the biomolecules-containing solutions, this oxide layer is covered by an adsorbed organic layer, mainly composed of proteins. A model is proposed to analyse impedance data obtained at the corrosion potential. The fitting procedure of impedance diagrams allows extracting the anodic charge transfer resistance, from which the corrosion current density can be calculated. The results show a slow-down of the anodic reaction in the presence of biomolecules (BSA, TB EPS and LB EPS), and a corrosion inhibition effect by LB EPS and to a lesser extent by BSA. No detrimental effect is evidenced with TB EPS.