ICP-AES and microRaman corrosion behaviour investigation on Pb, Sb, Bi tellurides in sodium chloride solution

•MicroRaman and ICP-AES investigation is a useful approach for the study of corrosion.•A passivation film protects PbTe and Bi2Te3 bulk samples from a progressive corrosion.•ICP-AES shows a high Sb release; the Pb and Bi releases can be considered negligible.•PbTe and Bi2Te3 show very good corrosion behaviour in the chloride environment.

Tellurides are in years considered among the best intermetallic compounds for thermoelectric applications in the low-intermediate- temperature range.The corrosion behaviour of pure Pb, Sb and Bi tellurides is investigated in this work through a spectroscopic approach. The samples are synthesized using a muffle furnace and then placed in 0.1 M NaCl aerated solution at room temperature for 48 days. All samples are characterized, prior to and after immersion, in terms of crystal structure, morphology and phases composition (SEM-EDXS, XRD). A study of the ionic release, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis, is also carried out. Furthermore, a microRaman spectroscopy study is performed on surface corrosion products. The preliminary results reveal that PbTe and Bi2Te3 show the best corrosion resistances in the considered environment.