Piperazine derivatives as inhibitors of the corrosion of mild steel in 3.9 M HCl

The inhibitory action of two piperazine derivatives, 1-benzyl piperazine (P1) and bis(1-benzylpiperazine) thiuramdisulfide (P2) on the corrosion of mild steel in 3.9 M HCl at different concentrations has been investigated in the temperature domain 298-333 K. Both weight loss measurements and potentiodynamic polarization methods showed that P2 was the best inhibitor and that its inhibition efficiency increased with concentration to a value > 92% at 10(-3) M. Potentiodynamic polarization studies clearly revealed that P2 acts as cathodic-type inhibitor. The activation energy for the corrosion rates was evaluated in the temperature range 298-333 K. Adsorption of P2 on the mild steel surface in 3.9 M HCl followed a Langmuir isotherm model. A physical adsorption phenomenon is proposed.