Electrochemical aspects of corrosion
Aqueous corrosion of metals and alloys

The electrochemical nature of corrosion is intrinsically linked to the atomic and electrical structure of matter. We know that matter is made up of elementary particles carrying electrical charges - ions and electrons - and electrically neutral particles - atoms and molecules.

The solid metal phase thus comprises (figure 1):

• Mⁿ⁺ metal ions arranged in a rigid compact stack: this is the crystal lattice ;

• conduction electrons e^-, free to move anywhere in the metal volume. These free electrons behave like a gas bathing the immobile ions of the crystal lattice. It is these free electrons...