Interaction of copper and NO2: Effect of joint presence of SO2, relative humidity and temperature

This paper reports laboratory tests involving the dry deposition on copper surfaces of NO₂, alone and in combination with SO₂, at different concentrations (200 and 800 μg m⁻³), temperatures (15, 25 and 35 °C) and relative humidities (50%, 70% and 90%). Gravimetric results and characterisation of the corrosion products by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show that the corrosive effect of NO₂ acting alone depends greatly on the RH. At 90% RH copper behaves in the same way as in unpolluted atmospheres, while at lower RH localised attack is detected. Analysis reveals the presence of basic copper nitrate (gerhardtite, Cu₂(OH)₃NO₃). However, in SO₂-polluted atmospheres no differential behaviour with RH or temperature is observed. In these atmospheres copper corrosion is similar to that obtained in unpolluted or in NO₂-polluted atmospheres at high RH, although GIXD detects basic copper sulphate (posnjakite, Cu₄(OH)₆SO₄·2H₂O). In the case of mixed atmospheres (SO₂+NO₂) a significant accelerating effect is observed when [NO₂]>[SO₂]. Otherwise an inhibitive effect is detected. At high RH in the presence of SO₂, NO₂ favours SO₂ oxidation and finally sulphuric acid formation, which attacks the cuprite layer. S-containing compounds, especially basic copper sulphate, are easily detected by GIXD and XPS in the outermost corrosion product layer. However, at low RH, NO₂ reacts preferentially with adsorbed water to produce nitrous and nitric acids that attack the cuprite layer. In this case, an outer corrosion product layer containing copper nitrite (soluble) and basic copper nitrate is formed over an intermediate layer that contains significant amounts of basic copper sulphate from the previous interaction of sulphuric acid and cuprite.