Corrosion inhibition of carbon steel in hydrochloric acid: Elucidating the performance of an imidazoline-based surfactant

A combination of electrochemical measurement and interface analysis have been applied to characterise the interaction of OMID, an exemplar imidazoline-based corrosion inhibitor, with carbon steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid. Corrosion inhibition efficiency data indicate that excellent performance is achieved well below the critical micelle concentration. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra demonstrate that, as the corrosion rate decreases, the interface evolves towards one comprising OMID bound to film-free carbon steel. This latter result provides key input for those researchers attempting to predict corrosion inhibitor functionality through atomic scale interfacial modelling, and so identify next generation chemistries.

Automated summary

The combination of electrochemical measurement and interface analysis was used to study the interaction between the corrosion inhibitor OMID and carbon steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid. The results showed excellent performance of OMID below the critical micelle concentration, with the interface evolving towards OMID bound to film-free carbon steel as the corrosion rate decreases. This finding is crucial for researchers trying to predict the functionality of corrosion inhibitors and discover next generation chemistries through atomic scale modeling.