Use of a natural rock material as a precursor to inhibit corrosion of Ti alloy in an aggressive phosphoric acid medium

Abstract The mechanism of interaction between magnesite mineral and phosphoric acid (0.001–0.5 M) in addition to the determination of the protective properties for Ti alloy (working electrode) in phosphoric acid both with and without an inhibitor have been investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. Results of electrochemical tests show that the corrosion resistance of titanium alloy in phosphoric acid solution only increased and hydrogen production decreased by either decreasing acid concentration or increasing immersion time associated with the thickening of the oxide film formed on the alloy surface. On adding magnesite, the corrosion resistance of Ti alloy is enhanced by increasing the phosphoric acid concentration (0.001–0.5 M) due to the formation of sparingly soluble magnesium phosphate film on the alloy surface that inhibits the effect of increasing hydrogen evolution reaction due to the pH value decreases. The increasing adsorption behavior of the magnesite inhibitor and decreasing its diffusion were deduced from EIS measurements. Thus, the addition of 3% magnesite minimizes the corrosion by forming a new protective film (Mg 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ), which differs from the traditional passive film and prevents the effect of the increase of hydrogen evolution. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the tested alloy were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and In situ Raman spectroscopy.