Using a multichannel electrochemical cell, critical potentials for passive film breakdown of a duplex stainless steel were measured at different temperatures in a 0.5 M NaCl aqueous solution. Statistical analysis shows that the transition between pitting and transpassivity does not occur at a well-defined "critical pitting temperature" (CPT) but takes place within a transition temperature interval (TTI), the width of which (similar to 10 to 1 degrees C) decreases as the size of the specimen increases. For practical purposes, the lower TTI bound appears to be the most reliable indicator of the CPT. Potentiostatic techniques were found to overestimate the CPT value compared to potentiodynamic estimations. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.