The effect of riboflavin on the microbiologically influenced corrosion of pure iron by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

The microbiologically influenced corrosion of pure iron was investigated in the presence of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 with various levels of exogenous riboflavin (RF) serving as electron shuttles for extracellular electron transfer (EET). With more RF available, a larger and denser phosphate layer was formed on the surface of pure iron by the bacteria. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear polarization resistance and potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that the product layer provided good corrosion protection to the pure iron. Using electrochemical noise, we observed that the addition of RF accelerated the corrosion at the initial stage of immersion, thereby accelerating the deposition of products to form a protective layer subsequently.