Increasing the Resistance of Steel and Austenitic Stainless Steels Against Pitting Corrosion by a γ-Irradiated Self-Assembled Amphiphilic Molecular Layer

This study, based on our previous research, aims to quantitatively determine the enhanced protection of austenitic stainless steels against pitting corrosion in NaCl solution by self-assembled molecular (SAM) layers, in their original form and after γ-irradiation. This study focuses on four stainless steels of varying compositions, covered by self-assembled undecenyl phosphonic acid layers. The metal dissolution in corrosion experiments was measured by a special, highly sensitive analytical technique using the inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The comparison of the dissolved metal ion concentrations measured in the presence of different metals with and without nanocoatings allowed the evaluation of the anticorrosion effectiveness of nanofilms as well as the importance of the alloying elements. The ICP-OES results demonstrated that the quality of layers have a significant impact on anticorrosion efficacy. The γ-irradiated self-assembled layers were the most effective in controlling the dissolution of stainless steels. The mechanisms of the inhibition in the presence of these nanolayers were elucidated by infrared spectroscopy. First of all, it revealed the differences in the adsorption of the undecenyl phosphonic acid self-assembled layer, both with and without γ-irradiation. The other important observation that confirmed the increased anticorrosion efficiency after γ-irradiation proved the formation of a more compact, polymer-like layer over the metal surface. The increased anticorrosion efficacy, defined as the enhancement in Pitting Resistance Equivalent Numbers (PRENs) in the presence of self-assembled layers (either pre- or post-γ-irradiation), can be documented.