Influence of Relative Humidity on Different Organic Acid Vapour-Induced Atmospheric Corrosion of Lead

The atmosphere environment including acid-free, formic acid, acetic acid and fresh camphor sawdust with different humidity was simulated. The effects of humidity on lead corrosion in different environments were quantitatively studied by mass change method, gloss measurement, SEM morphology observation, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The research showed that in various environments, the initial corrosion product of lead was mainly composed of β-PbO, and then further corrosion products with different densities and crystal forms were formed. The compactness of the corrosion products affected the continuous corrosion behavior of lead. Organic acids would accelerate the corrosion of lead, and lead was more sensitive to acetic acid in the environment, followed by formic acid, and the volatile organic compounds of camphor sawdust had a significant impact on the corrosion of lead. Basically, the higher the humidity in the environment and the longer the corrosion time, the greater the corrosion rate of lead. In the environment of fresh camphor sawdust, controlling humidity could slow down lead corrosion.