Ian Wark Research Institute
ARC Special Research Centre
ARC Special Research Centre
Research Area: Physics, interfacial electrochemistry, corrosion science
Supervisors:
Dr Jason Connor and Dr
Bruce Wedding (Electrical and Information Engineering)
Description: For many metals, the presence of a thin passive film
on the surface provides the primary form of corrosion protection. These
films are often only a few nanometers thick and their properties are
quite different from the bulk metal phase they protect. The integrity of
the film and its protective properties are influenced by a wide variety
of parameters such as the chemical environment and flow. Electrochemical
techniques are the most common in-situ means of probing conditions where
film formation occurs and their role in corrosion. A complimentary
approach is to exploit the photoactive nature of many of these films and
use this to explore their semiconducting properties. This provides
valuable information regarding the electronic structure of the films and
hence the factors that affect charge transfer across the film from the
metal to electrolyte and the growth of the films.
Photocurrent spectroscopy (PCS) provides an ideal method for studying
photoactive films. It involves shinning light on the electrode and
measuring the small resultant photocurrent. However, the currents are
small so a lock-in amplifier is required to extract the signal from the
noise. The purpose of this project is to set up and test a combined
photocurrent and electrochemical measurement system. Once the basic
facility is established it will be extended to allow measurements in
environments where fluid flows over the electrode.
Reference
F. Di Quarto, M. Santamaria & C. Sunseri, (2006) Chapter 18:
Photoelectrochemical Techniques in Corrosion Studies in Analytical
Methods in Corrosion Science and Engineering. P. Marcus & F. Mansfeld (eds).
Boca Raton: CRC Taylor & Francis.
