Comparative study on the corrosion behaviour of CNT-reinforced NiAl alloys in NaCl and Na2SO4 solutions

Abstract

Various electrochemical techniques were used to study the corrosion behaviour of the CNT-reinforced NiAl alloys under NaCl and Na2SO4 environments. The potentiodynamic polarization curves revealed activation Tafel behaviour when the NiAl alloy specimens were immersed in NaCl solution while passivation followed by slight development of transpassivation resulted under Na2SO4 environment. The reinforcement of pure NiAl alloy with up to 1.0 wt.% CNT increased the corrosion rate from 0.10 to 0.63 mm/yr under NaCl environment, while under Na2SO4 environment, the corrosion rate increased from 0.04 to 0.12 mm/yr. The observed increase in corrosion rate with an increase in CNT reinforcement (under both NaCl and Na2SO4 environments) suggested that the reinforcement of NiAl alloys with CNT reduced the corrosion resistance of NiAl. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the corrosion products consisted of oxides including Al2O3 under NaCl environment, while scanning electron microscope analysis showed a porous passive layer on the surface of the alloy specimens immersed in Na2SO4 solution. Graphical abstract