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Received: June 14, 2017; Revised: June 14, 2017; Accepted: August 17, 2017
Abstract: Galvanic corrosion tests of Zn/steel couples were conducted in 1 M NaCl and 1 M MgCl2 solutions to investigate the impact of magnesium ion on corrosion behavior of the couples. Two types of Zn/steel couples were used for measurements of open circuit potential (OCP) and galvanic current. From the results of OCP transient of Zn/steel couples, the corrosion potential in 1 M MgCl2 was a more positive value than that in 1 M NaCl during the sacrificial dissolution of Zn. However, earlier increase of OCP of the couples in 1 M MgCl2 solution indicates that the sacrificial dissolution rate of Zn in 1 M MgCl2 was enhanced more than that in 1 M NaCl, agreeing with the results on transients of galvanic current. This result is due to that cathodic reaction on the steel surface of the Zn/steel couple was enhanced in 1 M MgCl2 by the occurrence of hydrogen evolution reaction.