Water as an Inhibitor of Metal Corrosion in Hydrophobic Ionic Liquids

Water traces in hydrophobic ionic liquids surprisingly proved to exhibit unusual corrosion inhibiting behavior by protecting metal copper and nickel from electrochemical corrosion under aerobic conditions. The anodic dissolution of a copper electrode results in the formation of Cu (I) species. The simultaneous re-electrodeposition of nanocrystalline copper on the cathode occurred without additives to the resulting electrolyte.