Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels (HNSS) were investigated by electrochemical and immersion testing methods in chloride solution, respectively. The chemical constitution and composition in the depth of passive films formed on HNSS were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS). HNSS has excellent pitting and crevice corrosion resistance compared to 316L stainless steel. With increasing the nitrogen content in steels, pitting potentials and critical pitting temperature (CPT) increase, and the maximum, average pit depths and average weight loss decrease. The CPT of HNSS is correlated with the alloying element content through the measure of alloying for resistance to corrosion (MARC). The MARC can be expressed as an equation of CPT=2.55MARC-29. XPS results show that HNSS exhibiting excellent corrosion resistance is attributed to the enrichment of nitrogen on the surface of passive films, which forms ammonium ions increasing the local pH value and facilitating repassivation, and the synergistic effects of molybdenum and nitrogen.