Electrochemical behavior of zirconium in succinic acid solution

Abstract

The influence of succinic acid concentrations on the electrochemical behavior of ZrO<inf>2</inf> has been investigated using open circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic techniques. The anodic oxidation of zirconium leads to a significant improvement in the corrosion resistance of zirconium in succinic acid solution. OCP gradually increases towards noble values in 0.01 M succinic acid, while it decreases slowly to less noble values in 0.1 M succinic acid during the initial stage of monitoring and eventually attains a steady state. The film stability dependent upon the succinic acid concentration as evident from a shift in OCP values to less noble values with increasing concentration. The results of polarization indicates that the passive layers increase in thickness with decreasing acid concentration and become less susceptible to corrosion and thus providing more protection of the underlying zirconium metal.