The case method: study of a corrosion problem

[EN] The aim of the present work is the application of the case method as teaching-learning methodology for the study of a corrosion problem, in order to obtain more active learning of the student. The educational innovation has been applied in 2018/2019 academic year in the subject of “Manufacturing Processes of Building Materials” imparted in the fourth course of the Chemical Engineering Degree in the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering in the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Such educational innovation consists in the description by the lecturer of a real situation about a corrosion problem, so that the students can analyse it and propose solutions individually and in group. At the end of the case it is added questions to help to the students in the analysis. This activity is realized in class, which is evaluated using a rubric. The evaluation of the educational innovation proposed is realized by the scores of the students, the polls of the students, and the autoevaluation of the lecturer. The results show the high scores obtained by the students in the case method and the high grade of satisfaction of the students after applying the educational innovation. The case method permits that the students know real situations that they could find in a professional future, which increase the motivation towards the subject of study.Authors would like to express their gratitude to the project PIME: Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas para su aplicación en las áreas de Ingeniería Química y de Materiales (Ref. 27) and to the Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación and the Vicerrectorado de Estudios, Calidad y Acreditación from the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, for their financial and technical support.Muñoz Portero, MJ.; Sánchez Tovar, R.; Fernández Domene, RM. (2020). The case method: study of a corrosion problem. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 249-257. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2019.2019.10137OCS24925

Corrosion Behaviour of a Highly Alloyed Austenitic Alloy UB6 in Contaminated Phosphoric Acid

The influence of temperature (20-80°C) on the electrochemical behaviour of passive films anodically formed on UB6 stainless steel in phosphoric acid solution (5.5 M H3PO4) has been examined by using potentiodynamic curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Mott-Schottky analysis. UB6 stainless steel in contaminated phosphoric acid is characterised by high interfacial impedance, thereby, illustrating its high corrosion resistance. The obtained results show that the films behave as n-type and p-type semiconductors in the potential range above and below the flat band potential, respectively. This behaviour is assumed to be the consequence of the semiconducting properties of the iron oxide and chromium oxide regions which compose the passive film

Formation of ZnO nanowires by anodization under hydrodynamic conditions for photoelectrochemical water splitting

The present work studies the influence of hydrodynamic conditions (from 0 to 5000 rpm) during Zn anodization process on the morphology, structure and photoelectrocatalytic behavior of ZnO nanostructures. For this purpose, analysis with Confocal Laser-Raman Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and photoelectrochemical water splitting tests were performed. This investigation reveals that hydrodynamic conditions during anodization promoted the formation of ordered ZnO nanowires along the surface that greatly enhance its stability and increases the photocurrent density response for water splitting in a 159% at the 5000 rpm electrode rotation speed

Iron oxide nanostructures for photoelectrochemical applications: Effect of applied potential during Fe anodization

In photoelectrochemistry, a suitable photoanode leading to high efficiencies in photocatalytic processes is a research challenge. Iron oxide nanostructures are promising materials to be used as photoanodes. In this work, different potentials during iron anodization were applied to study the properties of the synthesized nanostructures. Results revealed that nanostructures anodized at 50 V presented well-defined nanotubular structures with open-tube tops, and they achieved values of photocurrent density of 0.11 mA cm−2 at 0 rpm and 0.14 mA cm−2 at 1000 rpm (measured at 0.50 VAg/AgCl), corresponding to the oxygen evolution reaction from water, i.e. 2H2O + 4 h+ → 4H+ + O2, demonstrating their good photoelectrochemical behavior

Effect of Temperature on Thermogalvanic Coupling of Alloy 31 in Libr Solutions Studied by Means of Imposed Potential Measurements

Corrosion resistance of Alloy 31, a highly alloyed stainless steel (UNS N08031) were studied in heavy brine LiBr solutions (400, 700 and 992 g/l) at different temperatures using electrochemical techniques. The mixed potential theory was used to evaluate thermogalvanic corrosion of Alloy 31 in the studied LiBr solutions. Potentiodynamic curves indicate that high temperatures favoured both cathodic and anodic processes, increasing passive current densities and decreasing the pitting potential. Generally, the cold electrode of the pair was the anode of the thermogalvanic cell

Influence of the Heating Rate on the Annealing Treatment of Iron Oxide Nanostructures Obtained by Electrochemical Anodization under Hydrodynamic Conditions

Iron oxide nanostructures are promising materials for photoelectrochemical applications such as water splitting. In this work, electrochemical anodization of iron is used to form different iron oxide nanostructures, and the influence of different anodization parameters was studied in order to find the most suitable nanostructure for photocatalysis applications. On the one hand, hydrodynamic conditions were evaluated by stirring the electrode at different rotation speeds during the electrochemical anodization to check their influence on the formation of the nanostructures. On the other hand, different heating rates during the annealing treatment were studied for obtaining efficient iron oxide nanostructures. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized by different techniques such as photocurrent density vs. potential measurements, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Incident Photon-toelectron Conversion Efficiency (IPCE). The results revealed that the best heating rate during the annealing treatment is 15 ºC·min-1 and that the hydrodynamic conditions allow the formation of nanotubular iron oxide structures achieving ~0.1 mA·cm-2 at 0.5 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in the water splitting measurements. Moreover, all the nanostructures are mainly composed by hematite (α-Fe2O3) with some amount of magnetite (Fe3O4) in their structure. Finally, the IPCE measurements showed that the best rotation speed during the electrochemical anodization for the formation of an efficient iron oxide nanostructure for photocatalysis applications is 1,000 rpm

Repassivation of the damage generated by cavitation on UNS N08031 in a LiBr solution by means of electrochemical techniques and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

The objective of this work is to study the influence of cavitation on the corrosion behaviour of Alloy 31, a highly-alloyed austenitic stainless steel (UNS N08031), in a LiBr heavy brine solution (992 g/L) at 25 °C. The presence of cavitation shifted the OCP value towards the active direction by 708 mVAg/AgCl, increased anodic current densities and passivation current density, ip, and reduced the pitting potential, Ep. Repassivation behaviour of Alloy 31 has been investigated by using potentiostatic tests at different potentials. The current density transient obtained after interrupting cavitation was used to obtain the repassivation index, n, provided by the slope of the log i(t) vs. log t representation. The value of n decreased as the applied potential was increased, reaching values near zero for potentials close to the pitting potential. The damage generated during the potentiostatic tests has been quantified by means of Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

Novel tree-like WO3 nanoplatelets with very high surface area synthesized by anodization under controlled hydrodynamic conditions

In the present work, a new WO3 nanostructure has been obtained by anodization in a H2SO4/NaF electrolyte under controlled hydrodynamic conditions using a Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) configuration. Anodized samples were analyzed by means of Field Emission Scanning Electronic Microscopy (FE-SEM), Confocal Raman Microscopy and photoelectrochemical measurements. The new nanostructure, which consists of nanoplatelets clusters growing in a tree-like manner, presents a very high surface area exposed to the electrolyte, leading to an outstanding enhancement of its photoelectrochemical activity. Obtained results show that the size of nanostructures and the percentage of electrode surface covered by these nanostructures depend strongly on the rotation velocity and the electrolyte composition

Photoelectrochemical characterization of anatase-rutile mixed TiO2 nanosponges

This work studies the influence of using hydrodynamic conditions during anodization on the morphology and electrochemical properties of anatase/rutile mixed TiO2 nanotubes (Reynolds number, Re = 0) and nanosponges (Re > 0). To this purpose different techniques were used, such as: microscopy techniques (Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, FE-SEM, and Confocal Laser-Raman Spectroscopy), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Mott Schottky (MS) analysis and photoelectrochemical water splitting tests. This investigation demonstrates that the morphology of TiO2 nanostructures may be greatly affected due to the hydrodynamic conditions and it can be adjusted in order to increase the efficiency for energy and environmental applications

Improvement in photocatalytic activity of stable WO3 nanoplatelet globular clusters arranged in a tree-like fashion: Influence of rotation velocity during anodization

This study investigates the influence of controlled hydrodynamic conditions during anodization of tungsten (W) on the morphological, electrochemical and photocatalytic properties of a novel WO3 nanostructure: globular clusters of nanoplatelets associated in a tree-like fashion. For this purpose different techniques such as Field-Emission Scanning Electronic Microscopy (FE-SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements, Mott-Schottky (M-S) analysis and photoelectrochemical water splitting tests have been carried out. Photoanodes obtained at 375 rpm showed the best photoresponse, much higher than that of conventional WO3 nanoplatelets, which can be ascribed to a noteworthy increase in the electrochemically active surface area leading to improved charge transfer at the interface. Moreover, the improved WO3 nanostructure displayed very good long-term photostability when irradiated with AM 1.5 illumination, thus solving the recurrent problem of the poor stability of WO3 against photodegradation processes