Effect of Cr addition on corrosion behavior of cupronickel alloy in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution

Cupronickel alloys have a variety of applications in marine engineering due to their good mechanical and corrosion properties. In this work, the effect of Cr on the corrosion behavior of Cu–10Ni–1.6Fe–0.5Mn alloy in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated through electrochemical and surface characterization. The results indicate that Cu–10Ni–1.6Fe–0.5Mn–0.3Cr alloy has better corrosion resistance performance compared to Cu–10Ni–1.6Fe–0.5Mn alloy in NaCl solution. The addition of Cr reduces the corrosion current density of cupronickel alloys from 7.82 μA/cm2 to 7.10 μA/cm2. The better corrosion resistance performance of the Cu–10Ni–1.6Fe–0.5Mn–0.3Cr alloy could be mainly attributed to the incorporation of Cr3+ ions in Cu2O lattice during corrosion. The corrosion product film of Cu–10Ni–1.6Fe–0.5Mn–0.3Cr alloy mainly contains the compounds including Cu2O, NiO, γ-FeOOH, Cr2O3, and Cu2(OH)3Cl. The formation of Cr2O3 can further enhance the stability of corrosion film and improve the corrosion properties of the alloy.