Stress corrosion cracking of copper and silver, specific effect of the metal cations

Based on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) studies on brass, and on Ag-Cd alloys (a model alloy used to reproduce the behaviour of brass), it was found that both pure copper and pure silver are susceptible to SCC in 1 M copper(II) nitrate and in 1 M silver nitrate aqueous solutions, at the equilibrium potentials for the reactions: Cu2++2e−↔Cu and Ag++e−↔Ag, respectively. The results were analysed under the light of recent developments in surface science. It was concluded that the same SCC mechanism that operates in brass and in Ag-Cd alloys should be operating during SCC of pure copper and pure silver, under equivalent experimental conditions.