Combining lithography and capillary techniques for local electrochemical property measurements

The relationships between composition, microstructure and electrochemical properties are of fundamental importance in understanding the corrosion of multiphase materials and thus in aiding in the design of new materials. A local electrochemical test system which combines a capillary device with a photolithographic mask has been developed to investigate the local electrochemical properties of a predefined micron-sized area with greater reliability and versatility than existing approaches. Independent electrochemical measurements were conducted on the different phases of a 2205 duplex stainless steel in NaCl solution, demonstrating the feasibility of the developed test system.