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Title: Indium oxide thin film as potential photoanodes for corrosion protection of stainless steel under visible light

Journal Article · · Materials Research Bulletin
 [1];  [1]; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Key Laboratory of New Fiber Materials and Modern Textile, Qingdao University, 308 Ningxia Road, Qingdao 266071 (China)
  2. National Engineering Center of Marine Corrosion Protection, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao 266071 (China)

Graphical abstract: If the conduction band potential of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} is more negative than the corrosion potential of stainless steel, photo-induced electrons will be transferred from In{sub 2}O{sub 3} to the steel, thus shifting the potential of the steel into a corrosion immunity region and preventing the steel from the corrosion. - Highlights: • Indium oxide performed novel application under visible light. • Indium oxide by sol–gel method behaved better photoelectrochemical properties. • Electrons were transferred to stainless steel from indium oxide once light on. - Abstract: This paper reports the photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of 304 stainless steel by In{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin-film under visible-light. The films were fabricated with In{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders, synthesized by both sol–gel (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-sg) and solid-state (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-ss) processes. The photo-induced open circuit potential and the photo-to-current efficiency measurements suggested that In{sub 2}O{sub 3} could be a promising candidate material for photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of metallic alloys under visible light. Moreover, the polarization curve experimental results indicated that In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-sg thin-film can mitigate the corrosion potential of 304 stainless steel to much more negative values with a higher photocurrent density than the In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-ss film under visible-light illumination. All the results demonstrated that the In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-sg thin-film provides a better photoelectrochemical cathodic protection for 304 stainless steel than In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-ss thin-film under visible-light illumination. The higher photoelectrochemical efficiency is possibly due to the uniform thin films produced with the smaller particle size of In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-sg, which facilitates the transfer of the photo-induced electrons from bulk to the surface and suppresses the charge recombination of the electrons and holes.

OSTI ID:
22348650
Journal Information:
Materials Research Bulletin, Vol. 53; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0025-5408
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English