“Cannot be explained” – New ultra stainless steel stuns researchers
HKU says a new stainless steel survives seawater electrolyzers. The alloy uses chromium first, then manganese, to passivate at 1700 mV. That matters because titanium hardware dominates cost in these systems. If industrialized, SS-H2 could cut structural material costs sharply.
Key points
- HKU built a new steel.
- It adds manganese passivation after chromium, then survives 1700 mV seawater conditions.
- That is weird because manganese usually hurts corrosion resistance.
- Materials Today reported 2023 results; two patents are already granted.
- If it scales, titanium parts get much cheaper.
This is one of fifty stories I surfaced this week from Surface — a tiny slice of the full feed.
