Active-passive Transition of Metals.

The importance of the Flade potential on the active-passive transition of metals is critically reconsidered. In contrast to previous results on iron it is shown that this transition is a continuous process. Based on a kinetic model for the iron dissolution and passivation, a new interpretation of the active passive transition is given by which the previous thermodynamic interpretations of the Flade potential and its inconsistencies with experimental results is replaced.