The atmospheric corrosion of copper by hydrogen sulphide in underground conditions

The atmospheric corrosion of copper by hydrogen sulphide has been followed during field tests using different sulphide concentrations, for 77 days, and during exposure to a well-defined synthetic atmosphere in a test chamber. The main components formed at the surface of the samples are copper oxides and sulphide. We show that exposure tests performed for short times in synthetic atmospheres cannot be extrapolated to long time exposure in real conditions, since three successive phases of film growth are observed. The mechanism of film growth is discussed, assuming that cationic diffusion through the cuprous oxides and sulphide is the rate-determining step.

[1]  S. Morrison.  Electrochemistry at Semiconductor and Oxidized Metal Electrodes , 1980 .

[2]  T. Piao,et al.  In situ spectro-electrochemical studies on the oxidation mechanism of brass , 1995 .

[3]  A. Arvia,et al.  The mechanism of oxidation of copper in alkaline solutions , 1984 .

[4]  T. Sasaki,et al.  The influence of oxide layers on initial corrosion behavior of copper in air containing water vapor and sulfur dioxide , 2000 .

[5]  J. P. Franey,et al.  On the mechanism of silver and copper sulfidation by atmospheric H2S and OCS , 1985 .

[6]  B. Rickett,et al.  Composition of Copper Tarnish Products Formed in Moist Air with Trace Levels of Pollutant Gas: Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfur Dioxide/Hydrogen Sulfide , 1995 .

[7]  E. Sutter,et al.  Characterization of the oxide layers on a Cu13Sn alloy in a NaCl aqueous solution without and with 0.1 M benzotriazole. Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical contributions , 1999 .

[8]  S. Sharma.  Reaction of Copper and Copper Oxide with H 2 S , 1980 .

[9]  E. Sutter,et al.  A correlation between electrochemical behaviour, composition and semiconducting properties of naturally grown oxide films on copper , 1995 .

[10]  J C Scully,et al.  Fundamentals of corrosion , 1990 .

[11]  R. Woods,et al.  Characterization of oxide layers on copper by linear potential sweep voltammetry , 1986 .

[12]  C. Leygraf,et al.  In Situ Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy for Studies of Atmospheric Corrosion , 1993 .

[13]  J. Brisset,et al.  Electrochemical investigation of copper oxide films formed by oxygen plasma treatment , 1997 .

[14]  D. W. Rice,et al.  Atmospheric Corrosion of Copper and Silver , 1981 .

[15]  J. P. Franey,et al.  The corrosion of copper by atmospheric sulphurous gases , 1983 .

[16]  B. Rickett,et al.  Composition of Copper Tarnish Products Formed in Moist Air with Trace Levels of Pollutant Gas: Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide/Nitrogen Dioxide , 1995 .

[17]  J. Kelber,et al.  Effect of Sulfur on the Oxidation of Copper in Aqueous Solution , 2000 .

[18]  R. V. D. Leest.  On the atmospheric corrosion of thin copper films , 1986 .

[19]  C. Leygraf,et al.  Analysis of corrosion products formed on copper in Cl{sub 2}/H{sub 2}S/NO{sub 2} exposure , 1995 .

[20]  J. Vedel,et al.  Identification of the corrosion products formed on copper in sulfur containing environments , 1984 .

[21]  C. Fiaud,et al.  Inhibitive effect of benzotriazole on atmospheric corrosion of copper in presence of hydrogen sulphide , 1989 .

[22]  N. Hackerman,et al.  A photo-electrochemical investigation of semiconducting oxide films on copper , 1982 .

[23]  J. Sansregret.  Reaction of Copper Oxide with H 2 S , 1980 .

[24]  M. Lenglet,et al.  Characterization of copper oxidation by linear potential sweep voltammetry and UV-Visible-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy , 1991 .

[25]  Sungkyu Lee,et al.  Coulometric Reduction of Oxides Formed on Copper, Nickel, and Iron , 1995 .