Probing of local dissolution of Al-alloys in chloride solutions by AFM and SECM

Local dissolution of Al alloys was probed in situ in chloride solutions by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). Preferential dissolution in the boundary region between some intermetallic particles (IMPs) and alloy matrix, and trench formation around large IMPs during free immersion and under electrochemical anodic polarization were observed, which indicate different dissolution behavior associated to different types of IMPs. Moreover, by using an integrated AFM/SECM system with a dual mode cantilever/microelectrode probe, simultaneous probing of electrochemical active sites and topographic changes over the same area was performed with sub-micron resolution. This allowed the ongoing localized corrosion processes related to the IMP to be revealed.