Electrochemistry, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics of Typical Corrosion Processes

Corrosion is a process involving the deterioration of a material and is regulated by chemical or electrochemical reactions with the surrounding environment; consequently, it also results in a degradation of the material’s properties. The corrosion process occurs spontaneously when the environmental conditions thermodynamically favor a metal to be in its oxidized state. Therefore, thermodynamics is commonly used to determine the tendency of a material to corrode. To describe the chemical process of corrosion, however, electrochemistry and kinetics are used.