The Korean Society of Surface Science and Engineering

The 304 stainless steel has good corrosion resistance, so it is used in various industries. However, in an environment like seawater, stainless steel can be damaged by chloride ions, resulting in surface corrosion such as pitting and crevice corrosion. Electropolishing is a technique that smooths the surface and creates a passivation layer that can resist corrosion. In this study, electropolishing was applied as a surface finish to increase the smoothness of the metal surface and its corrosion resistance. We confirmed the topology of the electropolished surface of stainless steel by optical microscope and evaluated the corrosion resistance characteristics of electropolished stainless steel through a potentiodynamic experiment.

Keywords STS 304; Electropolishing; Corrosion resistance.