The corrosion behavior of iron and AISI 304 stainless steel in aqueous tungstate solutions containing chloride ion was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, open circuit measurements and impedance spectroscopy. The obtained results point out that the inhibitive performance of tungstate depends on the presence of dissolved oxygen, being strongly related to the adsorption of this anion on the surface of the electrode. Under anodic polarization, at low sweep rate and electrode rotation the passive film is more stable and the corrosion rate decreases. At the open circuit potential, the EIS data have clearly demonstrated that for longer immersion times the tungstate inhibitive action is considerably improved.
tungstate; iron; stainless steel; pitting
