Technical Review
The following is an excerpt from the
Technical Review of RustBustRTM
perpared for
Oklahoma Inventor's Assistance Service
by
Allen W. Apblett, Ph.D.
May 21, 2001
“The RustBustR is simple in design and consists of a zinc containing alloy with a magnet embedded within it. The product is designed to be attached via an electrically conductive adhesive to the surface of a metallic object (e.g. and automobile) that is to be protected from corroding. The scientific basis for the corrosion protection is well established: placing two dissimilar metals in contact with each other creates a galvanic cell, essentially a battery in which the material with the lower reduction potential (E˚) becomes the anode and the other material becomes the cathode. In this case, zinc (at E˚-0.76V) will be the anode and iron (E˚=-0.44V) in a ferrous metal will be the cathode. Overall, for such a cell, the electromotive force is merely 0.33V under standard conditions. However, in many technical applications, this has been proved to be sufficient for remarkable corrosion protection and it is common practice to use zinc as a sacrificial anode for protection of ferrous materials. The prevention of corrosion stems from the fact that the rusting process is an oxidation reaction in which oxygen gas accepts electrons from the metal to form an oxide. In a galvanic cell, it is the anode that has the surplus of electrons rather than the cathode, and so, the corrosion occurs at the anode. Thus, the zinc of the RustBustR will preferentially be oxidized to zinc oxide thus retarding the rusting of the metal part to which it is attached.
In conclusion, the RustBustR will provide measurable protection from rusting.”