🔬 Surface & Structural Analysis

Materials Analysis for Passivated Steel Alloys

Specialized spectroscopic surface analysis, X-ray diffraction testing, and electro-chemical corrosion measurements to evaluate the long-term structural degradation of passivated steel alloys.
XPS Surface Analysis Suite
XRD Phase Identification Package
Electrochemical Corrosion Profiling
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Spectroscopic & Electrochemical Capabilities

Each technique targets a specific layer of degradation — from surface chemistry to bulk crystallography and electrochemical stability — giving you a complete picture of passivated steel performance.

XPS Surface Analysis

Monochromated Al Kα X-ray source resolves chemical shifts down to 0.1 eV. Detects oxide, hydroxide, and carbide species in the outermost 10 nm of passive films. Depth profiling via argon sputtering reveals layer-by-layer composition changes after exposure to chloride or acidic environments.

Identify passive film breakdown precursors before visible corrosion

XRD Phase Identification

Bragg-Brentano geometry with Cu Kα radiation. Full-pattern Rietveld refinement quantifies crystalline phases in corrosion scales — lepidocrocite, goethite, magnetite, chromium carbides. Automated ICDD PDF-4+ matching detects phases down to 1 wt% in multi-phase mixtures.

Map corrosion product evolution from early rust to mature scale

Electrochemical Corrosion Profiling

Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization measures pitting potential, passive current density, and repassivation behavior. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) extracts charge transfer resistance and coating porosity. Tests run in simulated service environments (chloride, sulfate, pH 3–10).

Quantify protective lifetime of passivated surfaces under service conditions

Correlated Data Reporting

Surface chemistry (XPS), crystalline phase (XRD), and electrochemical parameters (EIS) are cross-referenced per sample. Reports include overlay plots, phase fraction tables, and degradation trend analysis. Raw data files (VAMAS, XRDML, .dta) provided for internal validation.

Single-source report linking chemistry, structure, and corrosion kinetics

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Trusted by industry

What engineers and researchers say about our materials analysis

4.8 / 5.0

“The XRD phase identification package resolved lepidocrocite and goethite in our passivated 316L samples — something other labs missed. The Rietveld refinement was spot on.”

— Dr. Alpa Radhakrishnan, Corrosion Engineer
4.9 / 5.0

“Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy combined with XPS depth profiling gave us a complete picture of passive film degradation after 5000 hours of salt spray. Invaluable for our alloy development.”

— Kasturba Pandya, Senior Materials Scientist
4.7 / 5.0

“We rely on Xpslabs for routine passivation layer monitoring. Their turnaround time and the clarity of chemical state maps are unmatched. Saved us weeks of internal trial and error.”

— Ghalib Mane, Quality Assurance Lead
5.0 / 5.0

“The correlation between potentiodynamic polarization data and surface analysis results was exactly what we needed to validate our new coating formulation. Highly recommended.”

— Hira Dar, R&D Metallurgist
4.6 / 5.0

“We’ve used three different labs for corrosion product analysis. Xpslabs is the only one that consistently identifies chromium carbides and provides semi-quantitative phase fractions.”

— Dr. Eddie Radhakrishnan, Failure Analysis Consultant
4.9 / 5.0

“Their XPS suite resolved a 0.3 eV shift in the Fe 2p peak that correlated directly with passive film thinning. That level of precision is rare. We’ve made them our primary analytical partner.”

— Baldev Pandya, Principal Engineer, Steel Processing

Related Analysis Services

Explore complementary techniques for evaluating passivated steel alloys and long-term structural degradation.

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