Abstract
The electrode potential profile within a crevice was measured in situ during crevice corrosion of nickel in 1N H
2SO
4 under conditions of effective convective mixing of the crevice and bulk electrolytes. Oxidizing power was investigated by applying potentials in the passive region. A steep potential gradient and constant pH were always measured during crevice corrosion. The magnitude of the potential drop and the distance into the crevice of the passive-to-active transition,
X
pass,both increased linearly with increasing applied potential, in accordance with the
IR>ΔΦ∗ criterion. The in situ measured potential
E
passat
X
pass was, at all times, constant and in the range of the passive-to-active transition for the polarization curve of the bulk solution.