Is stainless steel a metal material?
Stainless steel is an alloy, a metal material, not a metal, because metal is a simple substance, and stainless steel is a mixture. Stainless steel refers to steel resistant to weak corrosive media such as air, steam, water, and chemically corrosive media such as acid, alkali, and salt. It is also called stainless acid-resistant steel.
In practical applications, steel resistant to weak corrosion medium is often called stainless steel, and steel resistant to chemical medium corrosion is called acid-resistant steel.
Due to the difference in chemical composition between the two, the former is not necessarily resistant to chemical media corrosion, while the latter is generally stainless. The corrosion resistance of stainless steel depends on the alloying elements contained in the steel.
