A tensiostatic study of the anodic behaviour of tungsten in acid solutions

Abstract Tensiostatic anodization of tungsten has been studied in 1 N solutions of H 2 SO 4 , HClO 42 , HNH 2 SO 3 and HCl at 25 °C. For several voltage values, the curves of current vs . time and open-circuit voltage vs . time have been obtained. All results indicate that the oxide films produced during the polarization are slowly dissolved in the acid solutions. The HCl, and to a lesser extent the HNH 2 SO 3 solutions, show a more aggressive behaviour. For values of the applied voltage above about 50 V, gas evolution begins. In the case of HCl solutions, the gas is Cl 2 and the electrode is rapidly corroded.