title: Microbiological influenced corrosion resistance characteristics of a 304L-Cu stainless steel against Escherichia coli.
abstract: Cu-bearing antibacterial stainless steels have been gaining popularity in recent years due to their strong antibacterial performances. However, only a few studies were reported for their actual performances against microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). In this study, electrochemical methods and surface analytical techniques were applied to study the MIC resistance characteristics of a 304L-Cu stainless steel (SS) against Escherichia coli in comparison with 304L SS as control. Corrosion tests for specimens after a 21-day exposure to a Luria-Bertani (LB) culture medium with E. coli demonstrated that the 304L-Cu SS considerably reduced the maximum MIC pit depth and the specific weight loss compared with 304L SS (8.3μm and 0.2mg/cm(2) vs. 13.4μm and 0.6mg/cm(2)). Potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that the corrosion current density of the 304L-Cu SS was as much as 4 times lower than that of the 304L SS, indicating that the 304L-Cu SS is a better choice for applications in MIC-prone environments.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. Electronic address: lnan@imr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China.
authors.forename: Dake
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
authors.forename: Tingyue
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials, School of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
authors.forename: Xiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. Electronic address: kyang@imr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003343:Corrosion; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004926:Escherichia coli; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013193:Stainless Steel; D003300:Copper
keywords: 304L stainless steel; Antibacterial stainless steel; Copper; MIC; Pitting corrosion