Anti-Corrosive Inorganic Pigments

Abstract

Corrosion may be defined as the destruction of metal by direct chemical attack, electrochemical reaction, electrolysis or oxidation, generally in a liquid or gaseous environment. In some cases, metal compounds are formed; in others, the metal is taken into solution. If unchecked, corrosion results in the deterioration of the metal and can continue until it partially or totally disintegrates into oxides, carbonates and sulfates to form a material similar to the ore from which the metal was originally extracted. Rust, for instance, is a hydrated form of the common iron ore, ferric oxide. Rusting of metallic iron is a natural reaction which occurs under atmospheric conditions, because rust is more thermodynamically stable than iron metal.