A study of plasma oxidation effects on the passive layer synthesis for the corrosion resistance of (α+β) brass

The plasma oxidation process and the corrosion resistance mechanism of oxidized (α+β) brass (63.5Cu36.5Zn) in pulsed dc oxygen plasma and Mattsonʹs solution are reported. The brass was exposed to pulsed dc oxygen plasma with various working pressures. As increasing oxygen pressure, the ZnO layer was formed on the surface dominantly and α-brass sublayer was formed under the ZnO since Zn in the (α+β) brass diffuse to surface. These multipassive layers contribute the corrosion resistance behavior of (α+β) brass with 92.5% corrosion protection efficiency to untreated sample.