Theory of Pit Nucleation. II. Interaction between Pits at the Early Stage of Development. The Role of Solvent

Yu. A. Popov

Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, ul. Vorontsovo pole 10, Moscow, 103064 Russia

Received June 6, 2006

Abstract — A mechanism of interaction between pits is considered. It is shown that at an early stage of their development, the interaction proceeds due to the hydration of metal ions by the solvent, as a result of which electrolyte in a pit and over it becomes dehydrated. Accordingly, the kinetics of mass transfer, which affects the reagent supply to the dissolved surface of the growing pit, changes. As a result, the reagents are in deficit, the growth of weak (i.e., less active) pits is decelerated, and they are repassivated. Equations describing these processes are derived, and a model of interaction between two linearly connected pits is proposed.

PACS numbers: 82.45.Bb