(164d) Effect of Surfactants On Electropolishing of Stainless Steel 316L

Electropolishing is one of the most common surface treatment procedures for stainless steel. Recently, there are numerous efforts focusing on improving this technology with employment of additional equipments, such as external magnetic field. Unlike these procedures, we simply modify the electropolishing procedure by introducing surfactants into electropolishing baths.

In this study, effect of surfactants initially present in electropolishing bath on surface finishing and performance of stainless steel 316 L (SS 316L) is investigated. Proper dosages of surfactants are initially introduced in the bath used in the electropolishing process in order to give better surface finish of SS 316L. Various instruments including atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as potentiostat are employed to characterize the electropolished SS 316L pieces. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of SS 316L pieces is investigated in 1.0 N hydrochloric acid. The results show that initial presence of surfactants is found not only to smoothen the surface but also to increase the corrosion resistance of SS 316L.