Passive film growth on carbon steel and its nanoscale features at various passivating potentials

In this work, the passivation and topographic sub-structure of passive films on a carbon steel in a carbonate/bicarbonate solution was characterized by electrochemical measurements, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. When passivating at a potential near the active-passive transition, the film contains the mixture of Fe3O4, Fe2O3 and FeOOH, with numerous nanoscale features. As the film-forming potential shifts positively, the passive film becomes more compact and the nanoscale features disappear. When the film is formed at a passive potential where the oxygen evolution is enabled, the content of FeOOH in the film increases, resulting in an amorphous topography and reduced corrosion resistance.