tests were performed on a cylindrical C38 steel sample from Tacinas
Company (France). Its chemical composition (wt %) was 0.360 C, 0.230
Si, 0.680 Mn, 0.016 S, 0.077 Cr, 0.011 Ti, 0.059 Ni, 0.009 Co, 0,160
Cu, and 98.388 Fe according to the French standard. The C38 steel
surface was coated in a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ribbon, leaving
a free circular basal working surface of 0.785 cm2. To
obtain reproducible results, the working electrode was polished with
silicon carbide abrasive papers of different grades (100, 1200, 2500,
and 4000) from the most abrasive to the least abrasive. Corrosive
solutions (1 M HCl and 0.5 M H2SO4) were prepared
from commercial solutions of 37% HCl (Scharlau) and 98% H2SO4 (Scharlau) and distilled water.