Surface protection of copper in aerated 3.5% sodium chloride solutions by 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole as a copper corrosion inhibitor

Surface protection of copper in aerated 3.5% NaCl solutions by 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (AMTA) has been reported. The study has been carried out using weight loss, pH, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometric (CA) measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) investigations. Weight-loss data indicated that the dissolution rate and the pH of the solution decreased to a minimum after 24 days of copper immersion due to the inhibitive action of AMTA. PDP, CA, and EIS measurements showed that AMTA decreased the corrosion rates and increased the polarization resistance and inhibition efficiency. This effect was increased with increasing AMTA concentration as well as the immersion time of the copper electrode to 50 h before measurements. SEM micrograph and EDS analysis proved that the inhibition of copper corrosion takes place due to adsorption of AMTA onto the surface. These results together confirmed that AMTA is a good mixed-type inhibitor and the inhibition of copper corrosion is achieved by strong adsorption of AMTA molecules.