Corrosion of steel in ionic liquids

Abstract

The corrosion behavior of 1018 carbon steel alloy has been investigated by electrochemical techniques. The ionic liquids studied were 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), 1 hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C6mim]PF6) 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C8mim]PF6), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide ([C4mim][Tf2N]). Potentiodynamic polarization and Tafel plots were used to determine the corrosion behavior of the carbon steel. Results showed that corrosion resistance of 1018 carbon steel in ionic liquids is outstanding as indicated by the low corrosion rates obtained which ranged from 3-13 µm/yr. Anodic polarization curves showed active/passive corrosion behavior of the alloy in most of the ionic liquids tested. However, ionic liquids containing chloride ions were unable to form a passive region.

Keywords

• corrosion
• corrosion potential
• ionic liquids
• carbon steel