The influence of ion implantation on the corrosion behaviour of iron in acid solution

The influence of ion implantation on the aqueous corrosion of pure iron in IN H₂SO₄ was studied. The iron was bombarded with 5 × 10¹⁵–10¹⁷ ions.cm^?2 of Ne, Ar, Cu, Pb and Au. The current density-potential curves of the implanted samples were measured and compared with that of untreated pure iron. Ne⁺ and Cu⁺ bombardments lead to a slightly higher corrosion rate in comparison with untreated iron. Pb⁺ depressed the corrosion rate by orders of magnitude, Au⁺ enhanced it by a factor of more than ten. The effect is attributed to a reduction or an increase of the activity of the electrode surface with respect to the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction, i.e. the ion implantation influences strongly the exchange current density of the hydrogen evolution reaction. A marked influence of the implantation on the anodic behaviour of the corroding metal could also be observed.