Passive Films Stainless Steels*/chemistry, Structure And Growth

passive films stainless steels*/chemistry, structure and growth

Once a film is formed, the reaction rate between the metal and the environment will be several orders of magnitude lower. The original theory of film formation goes back to Michael Faraday, who in the 19th century studied iron surfaces and found them ‘altered’. A review of the early days of passive film research has been written by Uhlig [6]. A general introduction to the theory of passivity has been published by Sato [7], whereas the electronic properties of passive films on different materials have recently been reviewed by Schultze and Lohrengel [8].