Electrochemical Behavior of Some Lead Alloys

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Abstract
A series of lead alloy specimens comprising binary Pb‐Li, Pb‐Sn, Pb‐Sb, and quinary Pb‐(Al, Mg, Sn, Li) alloys were electrochemically tested. The corrosion cell was set up in 30% , using a mercury‐mercurous sulfate reference electrode. The passivity subsequently attained by the respective alloys depended primarily upon the presence of a nonconducting film, the morphology (solubility, porosity, and strength of adhesion) of which depended, to a great extent, upon the nature and concentration of the various alloying elements. The influence of tin and antimony were clearly dominant and they played contrasting roles during actual passivation. Corrosion was associated with the preferential attack of the grain boundary regions since segregation of alloying elements at the grain boundaries provided the metal with a built‐in electrochemical cell. Homogeneous or single‐phase alloys corroded uniformly and recorded similar behavior to pure lead while the richer alloys suffered severe intergranular corrosion and were anomalous. The above findings were conveniently supported with both scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis and implications in the lead‐acid battery technology were effectively discussed.

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