Ozone-oxygen gas enhanced passivation of pure iron

Pure iron samples were passivated in borate buffer solution and were exposed to ozone-oxygen gas to study the possibility of improving the surface nanostructure such as atomically flat terrace structure. The treated samples were analyzed with spectroscopic ellipsometry and scanning tunneling microscopy, and the test of corrosion resistance was also carried out. The thickness of the oxide film increased by passivation at 800 mV (Ag/AgCl) and increased by ozone-oxygen gas exposure, but the oxidation film thickness decreased in air due to the reconstruction after rapid growth of oxides by passivation. The reconstruction of the oxide film was estimated by the change of the film thickness and compositions which were analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry using several layer models of Fe(OH)₃, γ-Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄ and so on. The widest terrace width of the oxidation film was obtained on large particles based on the reconstruction after the combination treatment of passivation at 800 mV as well as subsequent ozone-oxygen gas treatment. The terrace width of the oxide film after passivation and ozone-oxygen gas treatment was three times larger than that of air-formed oxide film. The terrace width with atomic scale flatness was correlated with the corrosion resistance except for the increase in oxide film thickness.