Effect of ultrasonic cavitation on the diffusivity of a point defect in the passive film on formed Nb in 0.5Â M HCl solution

This work primarily focused on the influence of ultrasonic cavitation on the transport property of the point defect in the passive film on formed Nb in 0.5 M HCl solution via electrochemical techniques based on the point defect model (PDM). The influence of ultrasonic cavitation on the composition and structure of the passive film was detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The transport property of a point defect in the passive film was characterized by the diffusivity of the point defect (D0). The influences of the ultrasonic cavitation power, passivated time and the distance between horn bottom and sample surface on D0 were analyzed. The results demonstrated that the passive film formed on Nb was an n-type semiconductor with a donor density (ND) ranging from 1019 cm−3 to 1020 cm−3 in the case of static state, while the order of ND increased one to two times by applying ultrasonic cavitation during film formation. The diffusivity of the point defect (D0) in the passive film formed on Nb at 0.5 V for 1 h in a 0.5 M HCl solution in the static state was calculated to be 9.704 × 10−18 cm2 s−1, and it increased to 1.255 × 10−16 cm2 s−1, 7.259 × 10−16 cm2 s−1 and 7.296 × 10−15 cm2 s−1 when applying the 180 W, 270 W and 450 W ultrasonic cavitation powers during film formation. D0 increased with the increment of the ultrasonic cavitation power, and decreased with the increased in formation time and distance between the horn bottom and sample surface. AES results showed the film structure and composition were changed by applying the ultrasonic cavitation. XPS results revealed that the passive film was mainly composed of Nb2O5 in the static state, and the low valence Nb-oxide (NbO) appeared in the passive film except Nb2O5 in the case of applying a 270 W ultrasonic cavitation power.