LAUSR

Abstract It is well-known that the climate has a strong impact on the corrosion behaviour of metals, especially when the influence of haze particles in the polluted air is also taken into account. In this study, four typical climatic environments in Xishuangbanna, Wuhan, Beijing and Turpan of China were selected as outdoor exposure test sites to study the corrosion mechanism of copper-clad Printed Circult Board (PCB-Cu), respectively. Based on the analysis of the corrosion morphology of PCB-Cu after exposure test and the composition of corrosion products, corrosion behavior of PCB-Cu under outdoor and simulated indoor environments was both revealed. Under low humidity conditions such as Beijing and Turpan, haze particles absorbed on PCB-Cu could act as a original inducement of corrosion in the initial stage, which triggered the occurrence of localized corrosion in the following stage. In contrast, local corrosion caused by haze particles was not significant under higher humidity conditions in Xishuangbanna and Wuhan, where uniform corrosion on the PCB-Cu was observed.