All books

Professional

Apps About Coach Log in Start reading

Chemistry · Glossary

What is Passivation?

Also known as: passive film

Definition 12.8 University Chemistry — Year 2 · Chapter 12 — Corrosion and Protection

Passivation is the strong decrease of the corrosion rate of a metal when it is covered by a thin, compact, adherent layer of its oxide, the passive film, which separates it from the solution. A metal in this state is said to be passive.

Anodic curve of a passivable metal (model). The current, large while the bare metal dissolves, collapses when the passive film forms, and stays small over a wide range of potentials before the transpassive rise.
Anodic curve of a passivable metal (model). The current, large while the bare metal dissolves, collapses when the passive film forms, and stays small over a wide range of potentials before the transpassive rise.
Read in context →