3. Controlling corrosion processes using electrode current-potential characteristics

3.1 Principle of chemical attack of a metal by an oxidizing agent in solution

The attack of a metal by oxidation due to the presence of an oxidizing reagent (H ⁺ , O ₂ , ClO ^- , etc.) in a solution in contact with this metal is a redox reaction (where the metal plays the role of a reductant) whose thermodynamic possibility can be predicted according to the general rules developed for this type of chemical reaction in solution. However, these rules do not take kinetic effects into account, nor do they provide information on the rate at which reactions are produced: a thermodynamically possible reaction may be extremely slow, and therefore of negligible...