Understanding the anti‐corrosion characteristics of a newly synthesized Schiff's base: an experimental and computational approach

Abstract

This paper presents an economically viable and sustainable method to combat depletion of extensively used mild steel alloy in industries exposed to a stagnant 0.5 mol/L sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) environment via a newly synthesized and characterized inhibitor namely 3-(2-amino-3-methylphenyl)imino)methyl)benzaldehyde (AMMB). The fabrication of this additive was performed at room temperature (298 K) using eco-friendly solvents and reactants. The highest protection efficiency recorded was 98.73% at 298 K temperature. Comprehensive nature of the corrosion inhibition mechanism was ascertained using state of the art electrochemical (galvanostatic polarization, LPR, and EIS) and morphological (ATR, AFM, SEM-EDS) studies. These investigations also revealed the formation of complexes between metal and inhibitor molecules. The complexes formed on the metal substrate encase the entire surface, which accounts for the observed high inhibition efficiency. The quantum mechanical modeling of AMMB molecule and temperature kinetics study supplemented the predicted results from preceding techniques.