Abstract
THE first view taken of the atmospheric corrosion or rusting of iron was that it was due to, a simple process of oxidation. In 1888 Prof. Crum Brown suggested, on the basis of experiments described by Crace Calvert in 1871, that the first stage in the rusting of iron is the production, under the influence of carbonic acid, of ferrous carbonate, which is subsequently converted, by atmospheric oxygen in presence of moisture, into ferric hydroxide or rust. In 1898, however, Prof. Dunstan, in a lecture delivered to the Royal Artillery Institution, put forward another explanation; he considered that pure oxygen in presence of water is capable of attacking iron, giving rise to ferrous oxide and hydrogen peroxide, part of the latter then converting the ferrous oxide into rust, while the remainder directly attacks the iron, giving rise to a fresh quantity of ferrous oxide, which in turn is again oxidised in a similar manner.
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The Rusting of Iron . Nature 74, 116–117 (1906). https://doi.org/10.1038/074116a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/074116a0