Ph.D. student Huiru Wang successfully defends dissertation

Huiru Wang, a Ph.D. student in the Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology (ICMT), successfully defended her dissertation, titled “Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscopy and Spectroscopic Characterization of Amphiphilic Surfactant Molecules as Corrosion Inhibitors.” A significant portion of her research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Alain Pailleret of France’s Sorbonne University in Paris.  

The focus of her research was Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) investigation of how a quaternary ammonium corrosion inhibitor model compound would adsorb on mica, then relate the observed phenomena to a ferritic-pearlitic steel. In baseline experiments she also applied AFM to characterize steel surfaces during corrosion, extracting corrosion rate data which matched values obtained by electrochemical techniques.  

She complemented her AFM-based research by conducting Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to independently identify inhibitor adsorption properties, as well as electrochemical reaction mechanisms, comparing them with her AFM findings.  

She will continue her research with ICMT into 2023. Her advisor is Srdjan Nesic, distinguished professor and director of the ICMT.