Destructive oxidation

Definition

Destructive oxidation is electron theft from a structure that needs those electrons to remain useful, introduced in the prior chapter as the basis of corrosion. On a metal surface it becomes the anodic reaction of the corrosion cell.

When this oxidation occurs on a metal surface and the system supplies an anodic site, a cathodic reaction, an ionic pathway, and an electrical connection, the corrosion cell is complete and a corrosion current can flow. It frames corrosion as the same electron theft seen with oxidants exerting their reduction potential. It ties corrosion directly to oxidation chemistry rather than treating it as a separate phenomenon.

Related concepts

Biological destruction by oxidation · Oxidation · Standard reduction potential

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🧪 chemistry