The Effect of Noble Metal Additions upon the Corrosion of Copper: An Auger‐Spectroscopic Study

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Abstract
Dissolution rates as a function of potential and the corrosion potentials for Cu and five Cu‐Pd alloys with varying compositions in the range of (0–30%) Pd were measured. The Auger spectra of the alloy surface and fresh surfaces obtained by argon ion bombardment to a depth up to 30 nm were obtained. Cu dissolves from the alloy and the rate of dissolution of Pd is negligible. The Cu dissolution follows the same laws as from pure Cu. Below a certain critical potential, the initially observed dissolution current decayed towards zero. The electrode potential at zero current follows the surface composition. At zero current the bulk alloy composition was found to have been modified to a depth of about 20 nm. An approximate calculation of for Cu dissolution of the alloy as a function of composition showed that value is reduced by some ten orders of magnitude compared with that of pure Cu. Corrosion is reduced in a manner consistent with these reductions when the cathodic reaction is not rate controlling.

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