curiosity journal

write about what you have you always wondered about, same as the previous papers. 3 sources needed for whichever topic you want to choose from.

ANSWER

Why Some Metals Rust While Others Don’t

Metals that have been abandoned for a while probably turn reddish-brown. The reddish-brown spots are places where the metals have corroded. These are considered as rusts. Mostly rust forms on the surface of the metal object. I have always wondered why some metals rust and become weak due to rusts while others don’t. When iron is left outside and given enough time, the metal will completely change into rust and finally disintegrate.

Rust is an iron oxide that usually looks like an orange powder on the metal surface. Rusting is a particular type of corrosion that is present in iron-containing materials (Melchers, 2019). Rusting has several effects on metal objects. It makes the objects rough and weak since it replaces the strong iron with a flaky powder. Rust can completely eat away even the strongest piece of iron due to its reactions which makes holes and weakens the metal.

When a surface is exposed to water and air it comes into contact with oxygen. Considerably, the oxygen molecules collide with the atoms of iron on the object’s surface and form iron oxide (Sun, Chen, Yi, and Cao, 2018). Rusting is a combustion reaction. This means that when the iron is in contact with oxygen it is likely to react and form rust.  The rate at which rusting occurs depends on several factors.

The formation of rust can either occur gradually or slowly depending on some factors such as environmental conditions as well as elements within the metal that have a high probability of rusting (Anthony, Ikenna, Ufuma, and Ezemuo, 2016). Factors such as oxygen, water, and heat play a big role in how fast rusting occurs on an object. Ideally, metals that have iron and iron oxide are likely to rust. Therefore, metals that have more iron are likely to rust faster and at a wide-ranging rate. The best way to prevent rust is to cover the iron surface with a metal that is less likely to corrode. Rust occurs due to exposure of iron to water and air. Therefore, the reason why some metals rust while others don’t is due to the presence of iron and iron oxide on the metal.

References

Anthony, U., Ikenna, M., Ufuma, O. B., & Ezemuo, D. T. (2016). Corrosion Rates and its Impact on Mild Steel in Some Selected Environments. Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 3(1), 34-43.

Melchers, R. E. (2019). Predicting long-term corrosion of metal alloys in physical infrastructure. npj Materials Degradation, 3(1), 1-7.

Sun, S., Chen, W., Yi, S., & Cao, S. (2018). Study of the corrosion protection behavior of neutral water-based rust remover on carbon steel. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 558, 130-137.