Corrosion Inhibition Performance of Triazole Derivatives on Copper-Nickel Alloy in 3.5 wt.% NaCl Solution

This study investigates the performance of three triazole derivatives with different molecular structures as corrosion inhibitors for the copper-nickel alloy CuNi 90/10 in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Inhibition behavior was systematically determined through electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, adsorption behavior and the inhibition mechanism were investigated via quantum chemical calculation and molecular dynamic simulation. Experimental results indicate that the three inhibitors with triazole rings and heteroatoms exhibited excellent corrosion inhibition capabilities on the copper-nickel alloy surface through physisorption and chemisorption. In particular, 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole showed the best inhibition capability according to the concentration ranges considered in the experiments. The results of quantum chemical calculation agreed with the experimental findings.