Electrochemical behaviour of zinc in 20 kHz sonicated NaOH electrolytes

This paper describes the influence of 20 kHz ultrasound upon the corrosion behaviour of zinc in NaOH electrolytes. A systematic study of the effects e xerted by ultrasound on the electrochemical interface was first carried out , so as to determine the transmitted power and to characterize mass transfe r at the electrode. Then attention was focused on the corrosion passivation mechanism of zinc in sonicated NaOH solutions (0.1 and 1 M). Investigation s were carried out using electrochemical techniques to determine corrosion and passivation kinetics parameters. SEM analysis of the sonicated zinc sur faces provides complementary information on the oxide layer composition and structure. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.