Corrosion of Pt-electrodes in basalt glass

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Uwe Glatzel
• Subject Area: Coating and Surface Technology
• Term: from 2012 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 230572604

Platinum is a highly corrosion-resistant noble metal, which is used for the production of special-purpose glass and for pulling glass fibers as electrodes and nozzles. Despite its excellent corrosion resistance, the melting of highly corrosive glasses such as basaltic glass results in undesired material damage, which implies a huge economic damage for the industry. In the context of this project it is intended to perform systematic corrosion experiments with Pt electrodes as function of various parameters such as frequency, temperature, and glass composition. A corrosion facility is installed at the Chair for Metals and Alloys, which has been routinely used during the last years in glass melting experiments. In order to understand the corrosion mechanisms and reactions and their possible changes over time, microstructural changes and corrosion products down to the nanometer scale will be characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, corrosion rates will be determined via X-ray fluorescence analysis of platinum contents in reacted basalt glass. These quantitative data will enable us to define the conditions under which the corrosion of platinum materials will be minimized.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Major Instrumentation: Mikroröntgenfluoreszenzspektrometer (Mikro-RFA)
• Instrumentation Group: 4030 Röntgenfluoreszenz-Spektrometer