Ab initio studies of the passive film formed on iron

Passive metals are protected from the environment by a thin (3–5 nm) oxide film that forms on their surface. The corrosion rate of these materials is typically of the order of $0.1\mu \mathrm{m}/\mathrm{y}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r},$ and depends on the electronic structure of the oxide layer. Here we present ab initio total-energy calculations of the passive oxide film that forms on iron at anodic potentials in weakly alkaline solutions. Surface x-ray diffraction studies have revealed that this nanocrystalline passive film has a spinel structure with a fully occupied oxygen lattice [M. F. Toney, A. J. Davenport, L. J. Oblonsky, M. P. Ryan, and C. M. Vitus, Phys. Rev. Lett. $79,$ 4282 (1997)]. However, the octahedral and tetrahedral iron site occupancies are found to be reduced (approximately 80% and 66%, respectively) and partial occupancy of octahedral interstitial sites is also observed (approximately 12%). We have used total-energy pseudopotential calculations to study the energetics and electronic structure of these defects and the interrelationships between site occupancies. The calculations suggest that film is metastable and may be semi-conducting. The calculations also suggest a correlation between octahedral interstitials and tetrahedral vacancies. Finally, an estimation of energy barriers in the film suggests that cation migration through the tetrahedral sublattice dominates film growth.