The corrosion behavior of pure magnesium in sodium sulfate solutions was investigated using voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with a rotating disk electrode. The analysis of impedance data obtained at the corrosion potential was consistent with the hypothesis that Mg corrosion is controlled by the presence of a very thin oxide film, probably MgO, and that the dissolution occurs at film-free spots only. This hypothesis was substantiated both by the superposition of the EIS diagrams, obtained for different immersion times and for two Na 2 SO 4 concentrations once normalized, and by use of scanning electrochemical microscopy in the ac mode to sense the local conductivity of the material. On the basis of the electrochemical results, a model was proposed to describe magnesium corrosion at the open-circuit potential. Simulation of the impedance diagrams was in good agreement with the experimental results.

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