Film Growth and Dissolution of Iron Ions at passive iron in neutral solutions containing chloride

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Abstract
The passivating oxide layer on iron grows by transfer of oxygen ions from the solution into the oxide. As expected theoretically, the dissolution rate of iron ions increases with the growth rate of the layer. In neutral solution the current efficiency for oxide growth is larger than in acid solutions. By addition of chloride to the solution the current efficiency is further enhanced, because chloride catalyzes the transfer of oxygen ions more strongly than the transfer of iron ions. Chloride in the solution does not change the ionic conductivity of the oxide to a measurable extent. During galvanostatic polarization in solutions containing chloride, fluctuations of the potential and of the dissolution rate of Fe(II) are observed. The frequency of the fluctuations increases with current density and chloride concentration.