Influence of cryogenic impacting and succeeding annealing on electrochemical corrosion behavior of coarse-grain Cu bulk in sodium chloride solution

Purpose This paper aims to study the electrochemical corrosion performance of ultrafine-grained (UFG) Cu bulk in 0.5 M NaCl solution. Design/methodology/approach UFG Cu bulk were prepared by impacting at −196°C and following heat treatment. The electrochemical corrosion behaviors of coarse-grained (CG), impacted and subsequently annealed at 190°C Cu bulks were studied. Findings All the bulks displayed typical active-passive-transpassive behaviors (dual passive films without stable passive regions). The resistance to corrosion of impacted Cu bulk was notably superior to that of CG Cu bulk, and subsequently annealing further improved its corrosion resistance. Social implications Except for mechanical properties, corrosion performance has been considered to be one of the most important aspects in bulk UFG metallic materials research for the prospective engineering applications. Originality/value Cryogenic impacting could effectively reduce grain size of CG Cu bulk to UFG scale and induce high density dislocation. Subsequent annealing resulted in a further decrease of grain size even to nanoscale, as well as nanometer twins. The grain refinement, high density dislocation and annealing twins effectively enhance the passivation capability, resulting in an increase in the corrosion resistance.