passivate

[ pas-uh-veyt ]

verb (used with object)

, Metallurgy.

, pas·si·vat·ed, pas·si·vat·ing.

1. to treat (a metal) to render the surface less reactive chemically.

passivate

/ ˈpæsɪˌveɪt /

verb

1. tr to render (a metal) less susceptible to corrosion by coating the surface with a substance, such as an oxide

Other Words From

• passi·vation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of passivate¹

First recorded in 1910–15; passive + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The new study looks at a very small but key detail: how to "passivate" the material's surface, changing its properties in such a way that the perovskite no longer degrades so rapidly or loses efficiency.

From Science Daily

The new study "addressed the ability to passivate those interfaces and elucidate the physics and science behind why this passivation works as well as it does," Bulovic says.

From Science Daily

Such barriers are often insufficient to passivate the surfaces of semiconductors such as silicon, resulting in power losses that could overwhelm the beneficial effects of singlet fission.

From Nature

To fully passivate Goce before re-entry, all engineers have to do is switch off its transmitter.

From BBC

"We will push it out into a heliocentric orbit and passivate it," said Micha Schmidt, the Herschel spacecraft operations manager.

From BBC