Corrosion protection properties of cerium layers formed on tinplate

Corrosion protection properties of cerium-passivated, unpassivated and chromium-passivated tinplates in contact with a 0.1 M citric-citrate buffer solution were studied using polarisation (DC) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The morphology and composition of the passive layer were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in conjunction with argon-ion sputtering. Cerium-passivated tinplate showed similar corrosion properties to chromium-passivated tinplate in DC measurements, while the latter yielded the best corrosion resistance results in EIS measurements. SEM and EDX illustrated spherical particles with iron, cerium and tin contributions. XPS measurements indicated that the cerium-rich coating was a hydrated oxide with a composition of cerium(III): Ce(OH) 3 and cerium(IV): CeO 2 and Ce(OH) 4.