Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The corrosion behaviour of a series of glassy alloys, Fe<jats:sub>80‐x</jats:sub>Co<jats:sub>x</jats:sub>B<jats:sub>10</jats:sub>Si<jats:sub>10</jats:sub> (x = 0, 15, 30, 55, 70, 80), well known for their magnetic properties, has been investigated in sulphate‐ and chloride‐containing solutions of different pH, employing weight loss measurements. In order to point out preferential dissolution reactions of metallic glasses constituent elements, analyses of the solutions were performed after corrosion tests by means of plasma source mass spectrometry and optical emission spectroscopy.</jats:p><jats:p>A higher aggressivity of the sulphate containing solutions has been observed. The amorphous alloys exhibit an increased corrosion resistance with the increase of cobalt content. Increasing the pH of the aggressive media from 1.5 to 5.6 a decrease of two orders of magnitude in the corrosion rates has been observed.</jats:p><jats:p>The corrosion products have been investigated by means of X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Hydrated iron oxide Fe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> · H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O was the major constituent of the film formed on iron‐rich amorphous alloys immersed in sulphate‐containing media.</jats:p>