A global transition towards more sustainable, affordable and reliable energy systems is being stimulated by the Paris Agreement and the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This poses a challenge for the corrosion industry, as building climate‐resilient energy systems and infrastructures brings with it a long‐term direction, so as a result the long‐term behaviour of structural materials (mainly metals and alloys) becomes a major prospect. With this in mind “Corrosion Challenges Towards a Sustainable Society” presents a series of cases showing the importance of corrosion protection of metals and alloys in the development of energy production to further understand the science of corrosion, and bring the need for research and the consequences of corrosion into public and political focus. This includes emphasis on the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions, on the lifetime of infrastructures, implants, cultural heritage artefacts, and a variety of other topics.

The Volta potential is an electron-sensitive parameter and describes the thermodynamic propensity of a metal to take part in electrochemical reactions. It has found widespread acceptance among corrosion researchers due to its connection to the corrosion potential and its easy measurability in local scale, being often used to study localised corrosion phenomena and micro-galvanic activities. The principle object of this paper is to provide a comprehensive, fundamental insight into the meaning of the Volta potential and to define a polarity convention of measured potentials by the scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM) in order to assess local nobilities in microstructures. Conditions to relate the Volta potential with the mixed-potential theory are discussed and a possible connection to corrosion phenomena explained. The limitations of the Volta potential as well as the SKPFM technique are also aimed to be explained, with some practical information to maximise the output of high quality data.

This work presents a theoretical assessment of galvanic (relative) nobility of four intermetallic particles (IMPs), Al₂Cu, Al₂CuMg, Mg₂Si and MgZn₂, in aluminum alloys through work function calculation based on density functional theory (DFT). The concepts of work function, Volta potential and relative nobility are discussed with respect to the IMPs and aluminum matrix. The calculated Volta potentials are compared with reported experimental Volta potentials measured by scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM). Various crystal faces and terminal types are examined in the DFT calculation, showing that these two factors have a significant effect on the work function value. Considering the large divergence in the reported experimental data, the comparison shows a general agreement between the calculated and experimental Volta potential data for the investigated IMPs. The DFT calculations provide theoretical explanations for several experimental phenomena. The results demonstrate that DFT calculation is a valuable theoretical approach for assessment of the relative nobility of different phases in the alloys, providing complementary information to experimental data from SKFPM. Moreover, the implications of the calculated Volta potentials are discussed with respect to the corrosion potentials.

This critical review aims at addressing important issues concerning zinc corrosion and zinc runoff processes of zinc or zinc alloyed with aluminum or magnesium exposed to atmospheric environments. The evolution of the corrosion product (patina) layer is very important for both processes. While corrosion largely is controlled by electrochemical reactions at the metal/patina interface, runoff is predominantly governed by chemical reactions at the patina/atmosphere interface. The gradual evolution of compounds in zinc patina follows one of two main routes: one in more sulfur-dominated and one in more chloride-dominated environments. Because of climatic changes and reduction of sulfur-containing atmospheric species in many parts of the world, the chloride-route is expected to dominate over the sulfur-route. Alloying with aluminum and magnesium results in substantial improvement in corrosion protection, whereby several mechanisms have been proposed. The released amount of zinc is highly dependent on the amount of rainfall, also on sulfur dioxide concentration or deposition, and to only a low extent on chloride deposition. Based on all runoff data, a model is presented which predicts 70% of all observed zinc runoff rates within 40% from their measured value.

Bare copper sheet and three commercial Cu-based alloys, Cu15Zn, Cu4Sn and Cu5Al5Zn, have been exposed to four test sites in Brest, France, with strongly varying chloride deposition rates. The corrosion rates of all four materials decrease continuously with distance from the coast, i.e. with decreasing chloride load, and in the following order: Cu4Sn>Cu sheet>Cu15Zn>Cu5Al5Zn. The patina on all materials was composed of two main layers, Cu2O as the inner layer and Cu2(OH)3Cl as the outer layer, and with a discontinuous presence of CuCl in between. Additional minor patina constituents are SnO2 (Cu4Sn), Zn5(OH)6(CO3)2 (Cu15Zn and Cu5Al5Zn) and Zn6Al2(OH)16CO3·4H2O/Zn2Al(OH)6Cl·2H2O/Zn5Cl2(OH)8·H2O and Al2O3 (Cu5Al5Zn). The observed Zn- and Zn/Al-containing corrosion products might be important factors for the lower sensitivity of Cu15Zn and Cu5Al5Zn against chloride-induced atmospheric corrosion compared with Cu sheet and Cu4Sn. Decreasing corrosion rates with exposure time were observed for all materials and chloride loads and attributed to an improved adherence with time of the outer patina to the underlying inner oxide. Flaking of the outer patina layer was mainly observed on Cu4Sn and Cu sheet and associated with the gradual transformation of CuCl to Cu2(OH)3Cl of larger volume. After three years only Cu5Al5Zn remains lustrous because of a patina compared with the other materials that appeared brownish-reddish. Significantly lower release rates of metals compared with corresponding corrosion rates were observed for all materials. Very similar release rates of copper from all four materials were observed during the fifth year of marine exposure due to an outer surface patina that with time revealed similar constituents and solubility properties.

Ingress of chloride into α-Al₂O₃(0001) and Al(111) was calculated by first-principles theory calculations by considering Cl insertion into Al or O vacancies within α-Al₂O₃(0001) or into vacancy or interstitial sites within Al(111). For α-Al₂O₃, the formation of an O vacancy is energetically more favorable than of an Al vacancy. The insertion of Cl into an O vacancy is also more favorable than into an Al vacancy. A high energy-barrier has been derived for Cl transport within the neighboring O vacancies. In addition, the work function decreases with Cl ingress into the interior of the oxide. For Al(111), Cl insertion into either an Al vacancy or an interstitial site is less favorable compared to the insertion into α-Al₂O₃. The work function only changes slightly with Cl insertion into an Al vacancy. Moreover, the pre-inserted Cl reduces the energy-barrier for further Cl ingress into α-Al₂O₃, whereas Cl tends to stay in the sub-surface layer of Al(111), suggesting Cl accumulation at the Al₂O₃/Al.