Effect of Nitrite Ions on Steel Corrosion Induced by Chloride or Sulfate Ions

The influence of nitrite concentration on the corrosion of steel immersed in three simulated pH environments containing chloride ions or sulfate ions has been investigated by comparing and analyzing the change of half-cell potential, the change of threshold level of or , the change of threshold level of / or / mole ratio, and the changes of anodic/cathodic polarization curves and Stern-Geary constant . The corrosivity of chloride ions against sulfate ions also has been discussed in pH 12.6, pH 10.3, and pH 8.1 environments containing 0, 0.053, and 0.2？mol/L , respectively. 1. Introduction The corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete has become one of the most severe deterioration mechanisms in concrete structures. It is generally accepted that due to the high alkalinity of cement hydration products, a protective layer of iron oxides is formed on the surface of steel, which provides adequate corrosion resistance. However, with the penetration of chloride, sulfate, and carbon dioxide and the appearance of concrete cracking, this protective layer becomes unstable and corrosion initials. As one of the methods is to prevent steel corrosion, nitrite-based corrosion inhibitors, irrespective of being directly added into concrete during the mixing process or penetrating into concrete by the surface-applied remedial treatment, have been widely investigated in chloride-contaminated concrete [1–3], carbonated concrete [4–6], and cracked concrete [7, 8], and their inhibiting efficiencies also have been checked in simulated concrete pore solution, such as in highly alkaline solution [9–12], carbonated solution [12–14], and neutral and acid solution [12, 15]. Most of these results confirm the effectiveness of nitrite in increasing the chloride threshold level, delaying the onset of corrosion, and reducing the corrosion rate once the corrosion was initiated, but there is no general consensus on the / mole ratio above that the preservation of the passive state can be ensured; suggested values for this threshold range from 0.11 to 1.0 in concrete and from 0.07 to greater than 2 in simulated pore solution. This difference in the threshold level of / mole ratio obtained from various literatures might be due to the way of determining the concentrations of chloride and nitrite in concrete (free ions and total ions, etc.), the different qualities of mortar and concrete used in the experiments, the different components of simulated pore solution, and the different surface topographies and compositions of the steel. Comparing and analyzing these literatures, the authors find