Corrosion Behaviour of Stainless Steels in Aqueous Environments

Stainless steels are indispensable in modern infrastructure—from desalination plants and chemical reactors to offshore platforms—owing to their ability to form a self-healing, chromium-rich oxide layer that impedes metal dissolution. In aqueous media, this passive film governs resistance to general and localised corrosion. Under benign conditions it remains intact, but aggressive species (notably chlorides), elevated temperatures or mechanical stress can compromise its stability, leading to pitting, crevice corrosion or transpassive attack. Alloy composition, microstructural features such as inclusions and grain boundaries, and surface treatments collectively influence passive‐film properties and breakdown thresholds. Contemporary research integrates atomic-scale imaging, advanced electrochemical testing and materials design to decipher degradation pathways, enhance film robustness and predict long-term performance in critical applications.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated a novel core–shell strategy in duplex stainless steels whereby nonmetallic inclusions are encapsulated within a niobium-enriched armour, effectively isolating these defects from corrosive media and dramatically improving pitting resistance in chloride environments. Concurrently, direct atomic‐scale observations have unveiled chloride-driven mechanisms of passive‐film breakdown: aberration-corrected microscopy captured ion accumulation at the metal/film interface, lattice expansion on the substrate and nanoscale undulations in the oxide layer, collectively challenging classical uniform-film models and informing new design criteria for ultra-resilient alloys.

Corrosion Behaviour of Stainless Steels in Aqueous Environments publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in corrosion behaviour of stainless steels in aqueous environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Passive film: A nanometre-thin, protective oxide layer that forms spontaneously on stainless steel surfaces to inhibit corrosion.

Passivity: The condition in which the passive film remains intact and prevents significant metal dissolution.

Pitting corrosion: Localised failure of the passive film resulting in deep, often chloride-driven cavities on the metal surface.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER): An anodic process in which water is oxidised to oxygen, potentially destabilising passive films at high potentials.

Polarisation resistance: The slope of the potential–current curve at corrosion potential, used as an inverse indicator of corrosion rate.

References

1. Design for improving corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steels by wrapping inclusions with niobium armour. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Unmasking chloride attack on the passive film of metals. Nature Communications (2018).
3. The Oxygen Evolution Reaction Drives Passivity Breakdown for Ni–Cr–Mo Alloys. Advanced Materials (2023).
4. Mechanisms of Cr and Mo Enrichments in the Passive Oxide Film on 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel. Frontiers in Materials (2019).