Investigation of the corrosion behavior of 29NC alloy in LiCl-KCl melt at 500 oC depending on the content of Li2O and LiOH from 0 to 2 mol. %

Molten chloride salt electrolytes are promising for use as a working medium for the implementation of high-temperature technologies. Alkali metal chlorides are an aggressive environment in relation to structural materials. One of the possible methods of reducing the corrosion damage of a structural material is the method of oxygen passivation of the surface of a metal or alloy by introducing a certain amount of oxygen-containing additives into the melt. The article considers the effect of oxygen-containing impurities (lithium oxide and lithium hydroxide) on the corrosive behavior of a metal material — an alloy of the composition iron–cobalt–nickel. To assess the corrosion resistance of materials, gravimetric analysis, micro-X-ray spectral analysis (XRSA) of the surface and cross-section sections, and X-ray phase analysis (XRF) of the sample surface were used. The dependences of the corrosion rate of the material on the concentration of oxygen-containing additives Li2O and LiOH are presented. Based on the data set of gravimetric, MRSA and XRF data, it was found that 29NC alloy samples in the LiCl–KCl–nLi2O salt melt are not susceptible to corrosion, but in the LiCl–KCl–nLiOH melt, the speed of the 29NC alloy increases significantly due to the interaction of the LiOH additive with the most electronegative component of the alloy — iron.