Photoelectrochemical study of passive films on stainless steel in neutral solutions

Abstract Passive films formed on AISI 304 stainless steel in neutral solutions are studied using photoelectrochemical technique. Photocurrents were investigated as a function of the wavelength of the incident light, the electrode potential and the time. The results of the measurements together with capacity measurements indicate that the passive film on AISI 304 shows characteristics of a highly doped amorphous or highly disordered n-type semiconductor. The potential dependence of the optical gap values and of the photocurrent transients can be interpreted assuming that the passive film is an iron-chromium oxide solid solution.