TY - JOUR A1 - Kumar, Sumit A1 - Swaminathan, Srinivasan A1 - Hesse, Rene A1 - Goldbeck, Hennig A1 - Ding, Wenjin A1 - Bonk, Alexander A1 - Bauer, Thomas T1 - Understanding the effect of oxide ions on Solar Salt chemistry and corrosion mechanism of 316L stainless steel at 600 °C N2 - Solar Salt (60 wt% NaNO3, 40 wt% KNO3), used in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technology, can decompose into various products at elevated temperatures, with oxide ions being one of the known corrosive byproducts. The study mimics Solar Salt aging by intentionally adding sodium peroxide (Na2O2) and sodium oxide (Na2O) at concentrations of 0.005–0.33 wt% to investigate their role in the corrosion of austenitic stainless steel at 600 °C in typical operating conditions. Salt chemistry (nitrite, nitrate, oxide ions, and metal cations) was analyzed every 24 h, and steel corrosion after 168 h was assessed by weight change, corrosion rate, phase analysis, and cross-sectional morphology. Results reveal that at or above 0.135 wt% added Na2O2/Na2O leads to a quasi-steady-state equilibrium of oxide ions in the salt. Interestingly, at these concentrations, the presence of steel further decreases oxide ion concentration. Furthermore, above 0.135 wt%, the corrosion rate increases significantly, along with increased spallation, porosity and disintegration of the corrosion layer, forming a non-protective layer. This study highlights the critical role of oxide ions in the corrosion process. KW - Solar Salt KW - High temperature corrosion KW - Thermal Energy Storage KW - Alkali oxides KW - Austenitic stainless steel PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-628463 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2025.112849 SN - 1879-0496 VL - 249 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-62846 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -