The application of electrochemical noise resistance to evaluate the corrosion resistance of AISI type 304 SS in nitric acid

The paper presents the application of noise resistance to evaluate the corrosion behaviour of sensitized AISI type 304 SS in nitric acid of varying concentration (4 N, 12 N, 16 N) and temperature (298 K, 323 K, 348 K). Electrochemical noise data was acquired from a three identical electrode configuration in the required conditions at open circuit potential. The noise resistance was evaluated as the ratio of the standard deviation of the potential to that of the current noise after removing the DC component. The inverse relationship between noise resistance and corrosion rate was exploited to qualitatively assess the corrosion behaviour of AISI type 304 SS in nitric acid. Noise resistance decreased with increase in concentration implying an increase in corrosion rate with increase in nitric acid concentration. An increase in temperature from 298 K to 323 K and 348 K decreased the noise resistance in 4 N and 12 N nitric acid implying higher corrosion rates at higher temperatures. The corrosion rates were similar at 323 K and 348 K in these concentrations. The simultaneous measurement of current and potential noise facilitated the evaluation of the frequency dependence of the noise data to determine the spectral noise resistance (Rsn) and the DC limit of the spectral noise resistance Rsn0. The results from Rsn and Rsn0 also indicated higher corrosion rates at higher concentration and temperature. Also Rn and Rsn0 correlated well in 4 N and 12 N nitric acid at 323 K and 348 K while disparity was observed at room temperature in 4 N and 12 N nitric acid.