In‐situ characterization of the early stage of pipeline steel corrosion in bicarbonate solutions by electrochemical atomic force microscopy

An electrochemical atomic force microscope was used to characterize the early stage of corrosion of an X100 pipeline steel in bicarbonate solutions with varied concentrations by synchronous measurements of electrochemical potential of the steel and its topographic evolution with time. Upon immersion of the steel in 0.01 M NaHCO₃ solution, both electrochemical potential and topographic profile are associated with the dissolution of air‐formed oxides present on the steel surface. The potential drops and the surface roughness increases rapidly. When corrosion of the steel occurs, the potential further drops and the surface roughness of the steel increases gradually. As the steel corrosion achieves a steady state, the generation of corrosion products reaches a dynamic equilibrium state. The surface roughness maintain an approximately stable value. In solutions containing increased bicarbonate concentrations, such as 0.1 M and 0.5 M NaHCO₃, the steel can be passivated. The formed passive film can eliminate some surface features and improves the surface roughness. The topographic profile of the steel surface in 0.5 M NaHCO₃ solution is smoother than that in 0.1 M solution. The surface features within 20 nm become eliminated after 4500 s of immersion in 0.1 M NaHCO₃ solution, while larger features within 50 nm in size are eliminated in 0.5 M NaHCO₃ solution in the same time period. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.