Diffusivities were deduced from potentiostatic dissolution experiments by assuming that the rate of dissolution was governed by solid-state diffusion. It was found that the diffusion of a component of a binary alloy during selective dissolution was determined mainly by the properties of the electronegative component;. that is, the matrix. The most important property tended to be the melting-point. The diffusivity of the component increased as the electronegative content of the alloy increased. In the early stages of selective dissolution, the diffusivity could be several orders of magnitude greater than the corresponding equilibrium value. The diffusivity was greatest during the initial period, and decreased - with time - to a value which was characteristic of equilibrium diffusion at room temperature. The time required to reach equilibrium increased with increasing melting-point. The room-temperature diffusivity of Cd was 1.4 x 10-13cm2/s.

A.P.Pchelnikov, A.I.Marshakov, V.V.Losev: Elektrokhimiya, 1985, 21[7], 949-53. [Soviet Electrochemistry, 1985, 21[7], 891-4]