Simulating study of atmospheric corrosion of steels in a coastal industrial zone: Effect of SO32− on the formation of β-FeOOH rust particles synthesized from FeCl3 solutions

Abstract For simulation of the atmospheric corrosion of steel in a coastal industrial district, β-FeOOH rusts were synthesized by aging the aqueous FeCl 3 solutions containing SO 3 2− . The yield and crystallite size of β-FeOOH were remarkably decreased by adding SO 3 2− , implying the suppression of formation and crystallization of β-FeOOH. Before aging, added SO 3 2− broke the coordination of Cl − and OH − to Fe 3+ in Fe 3+ -complexes and reduced the Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ . These facts suppose that SO 3 2− generated by dissolution of SO X gas in thin film water on the steels at a coastal industrial zone markedly inhibits the formation of β-FeOOH rust.