In this study, the influence of exogenous pyocyanin (PYO) on the microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of 304 stainless steel by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. Under sterile condition, the additional PYO in the culture medium had no effect on the corrosion of 304 stainless steel. In contrast, P. aeruginosa biofilm inoculated in the media with additional PYO resulted in more severe pitting corrosion. EIS and cyclic potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that exogenous PYO promoted the electron transfer efficiency between the P. aeruginosa biofilm and the stainless steel surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results further demonstrated that the P. aeruginosa led the breakdown of passive film predominantly by accelerating the bioreductive dissolution of iron oxides.
Keywords: A. Microbiologically influenced corrosion; B. Pyocyanin; C. Extracellular electron transfer.
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