Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects最新文献

{"title":"Magnetic fucoidan aerogel microspheres: Cationic drug loading kinetics and electrostatic-magnetic synergy","authors":"Jing Ma ,&nbsp;Xindong He ,&nbsp;Liping Wang ,&nbsp;Jiadong Pang","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137843","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137843","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of advanced drug carriers with multifunctional capabilities remains a critical challenge in biomedical engineering, particularly to achieve targeted delivery, controlled release, and efficient recovery of therapeutic agents. To address these limitations, this study designed FC-GS aerogel microspheres integrating supercritical CO₂ technology, graphene oxide (GO), and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION), aiming to synergistically combine structural stability, selective drug adsorption, and magnetic responsiveness. Supercritical CO₂ drying preserved the hierarchical microporous architecture of the aerogel, as evidenced by BET analysis revealing a high surface area and pore volume. The introduction of fucoidan enabled pH-dependent electrostatic interactions, achieving selective adsorption of cationic drugs, while anionic drugs were mainly captured in the porous network of GO through physical adsorption. SPION endowed the microspheres with rapid magnetic separation under external fields. The system demonstrated pH-responsive release kinetics along with excellent structural recyclability over multiple cycles. These results validate FC-GS aerogel microspheres as a versatile platform integrating programmable drug loading, stimuli-triggered release, and magnetically assisted localization, offering promising applications in targeted cancer therapy, wound management, and controlled antibiotic delivery. The study advances the design of multifunctional carriers by addressing key challenges in clinical drugs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137843"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced flux, antifouling performance, and oil/water separation using polysulfone hollow fiber membranes with dual nanofillers: Carboxylated halloysite and ZIF-8","authors":"Vikash Kumar,&nbsp;Jayesh Bellare","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137820","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137820","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Oily wastewater has become a significant problem due to the substantial growth in the oil, grease, petrol, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Traditional methods like skimming, centrifugation, coagulation, and flocculation are ineffective when the droplet size is less than 10 μm, indicating the need for advanced membrane treatment process. In this study, polysulfone (Psf)-based mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) were fabricated by incorporating ZIF-8 and HNT-COOH (cHNT) nanoparticles to enhance their physiochemical properties, including hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, permeability, and oil/water rejection. The prepared membranes were characterized using SEM, ATR-FTIR, AFM, contact angle measurements, and mechanical testing. The results demonstrated that increasing the concentration of cHNT nanoparticles significantly improved membrane hydrophilicity, reducing the contact angle to approximately 48°. Mechanical strength also saw a substantial boost, with the modified membrane (PZH-75) reaching 120 MPa, compared to 45 MPa for the pristine membrane. The PZH-75 membranes exhibited outstanding permeability, achieving a pure water permeability (PWP) of 476 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹, an 11-fold increase over the pristine membrane (42 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹). Notably, the PZH-25 membrane (223.4 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹) outperformed the PH membrane (176.2 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹), despite both containing 0.25 wt% cHNT. Additionally, the PZH-75 membrane showed remarkable antifouling properties, with a 76 % flux recovery ratio for 1000 ppm oil concentration and high oil rejection, yielding a permeate oil concentration of 6.4 ppm (99.3 % rejection). These findings highlight the potential of incorporating ZIF-8 and cHNT nanoparticles to enhance HFMs for efficient oil/water separation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137820"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144703229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regulating effects of various surfactants on the self-assembly and fractal evolution of aluminosilicate precursors during the induced crystallization of synthetic clinoptilolites","authors":"Ming Liu,&nbsp;Nan Sun,&nbsp;Ruohan Xu,&nbsp;Tallat Munir,&nbsp;Shiyang Bai,&nbsp;Jihong Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the evolution of aluminosilicate species during the induction periods of synthesizing clinoptilolites (CPs) is crucial for elucidating their nucleation mechanism. Particularly, the involvement of the used surfactants, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), or cetyltrimethylammonium ammonium bromide (CTAB), or o-phenylenediamine (OPD) in the hydrothermal synthesis systems of CPs is an effective strategy for regulating their microstructures. In present work, the effected mechanism of the surfactant-assisted synthesis on the nucleation behaviors of CPs was demonstrated via various characterizations. Especially, the small-angle X-ray scattering patterns was used to explore the effect of these surfactants on the fractal features of the aluminosilicate species and self-assembly performances. The results indicated that the crystallization kinetics of the aluminosilicate species in the induced stage could be modulated by additive surfactants. In which, the formation of the surfactant (core)-aluminosilicate species (shell) structures suppressed the generation of primary structural building units containing 8- and 10-membered rings. Specifically, the interfacial hydrated layer thickness of the core-shell structured aluminosilicate sol (abbreviated as CTAB-CP, OPD-CP, and PEG-CP) was estimated to be approximately 3.0 nm in CTAB-CP, 1.2 nm in OPD-CP, and 0.8 nm in PEG-CP, respectively. Meanwhile, the growing rate of the PEG-CP particles in size of from 30 to 90 nm was faster than that of OPD-CP, while CTAB-CP remained stable in size of about 50 nm. However, the additive surfactants were conducive to facilitate transformations from worm-like particles to disordered nanosheets. These finds suggested CTAB showed the most pronounced influence during induction periods of synthesizing CPs, followed by OPD and PEG, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137835"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144703233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flexible triboelectric nanogenerator via magnetic field-orientated nanocomposites as a self-powered sensor for wireless transmission-based remote security systems","authors":"Zhenji Zhou ,&nbsp;Caiyin You ,&nbsp;Jizhe Jia ,&nbsp;Weimin Xia ,&nbsp;Zhong Li ,&nbsp;Heguang Liu ,&nbsp;Na Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137775","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137775","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers are commonly used in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) due to their flexibility and good mechanical–electrical properties. In this study, poly[(vinylidene fluoride)-co-trifluoroethylene] [P(VDF-TrFE)] composites were fabricated by embedding polydopamine (PDA)-coated cobalt ferrite nanorods (RCFO). A stripe-like microstructure was formed by applying a magnetic field during the curing process. The TENG was built with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film as the negative friction material. Due to the enhanced micro–nano structure of the P(VDF-TrFE) films, the increased charge transfer occurred between the RCFO@PDA/P(VDF-TrFE) composite film and the PTFE film. Good triboelectric performance was realized, with an open-circuit voltage of 33.20 V, a short-circuit current of 1.20 μA, and a transferred charge of 13.17 nC at a frequency of 5 Hz and a vertical contact force of 15 N. Additionally, a peak power density of 32.5 μW cm⁻² was achieved when connected to an external load resistor of 20 MΩ. In practical applications, the TENG could directly illuminate a series of 36 connected light-emitting diodes without the need for capacitors. The device's ability to capture stray magnetic fields was also demonstrated. A wireless transmission-based remote security system was demonstrated as the self-powered sensor in a noncontact mode.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137775"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Covalent immobilization of carbon dots via in-situ co-carbonization as manageable fluorescent pH sensor with enhanced sensitivity","authors":"Jie Li ,&nbsp;Lixia Huo ,&nbsp;Kun Li ,&nbsp;Jiebing Wang ,&nbsp;Yanchun He ,&nbsp;Peng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted intense interest in multiple applications recently. However, their very small size and easy aggregation remain as challenges in practical applications. Here, covalently immobilized carbon dots were designed via in-situ co-carbonization of amino functionalized silica (SiO₂-NH₂) nanoparticles, citric acid and urea. Taking the pH sensing performance as an example, the resultant CDs-SiO₂ nanoparticles exhibited excellent pH-responsive PL emission with enhanced sensitivity and good cycle stability, demonstrating the successful covalent immobilization via in-situ co-carbonization. Such features make the proposed covalent immobilization via in-situ co-carbonization a promising strategy to design versatile CDs-supported devices for other practical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137827"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rational design of Ce-doped NiCo-LDH/rGO-SWCNT bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and lactic acid conversion","authors":"Xiaojun Su,&nbsp;Qing Wan,&nbsp;Congming Tang,&nbsp;Xinli Li,&nbsp;Zhi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137833","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137833","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A series of cobalt-nickel layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) electrocatalysts with optimized Ni/Co ratios and controlled Ce doping were synthesized via hydrothermal assembly on reduced graphene oxide-single-walled carbon nanotube (rGO-SWCNT) hybrid supports. Systematic evaluation of their dual functionality for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and lactic acid oxidation reaction (LAOR) revealed critical structure-performance relationships. The NiCo12-LDH (NiCo = 1:2) demonstrated superior HER activity in 1 M KOH, achieving low overpotential of 479.8 mV at −50 mA cm⁻² (vs. RHE), favorable kinetics: Tafel slope of 222.6 mV dec⁻¹ , high active site density: electrochemical surface area (ECSA) = 149.5 mF cm⁻², minimal charge transfer resistance (Rct &lt; 2.67 Ω). Ce³ ⁺ doping (5 %) further optimized performance through electronic structure modulation via charge transfer of Ni/Co to Ce, increased Ni³ ⁺/Co²⁺ active site ratio, reduced Tafel slope to 167.8 mV dec⁻¹ (24.6 % improvement) and expanded ECSA to 185.6 mF cm⁻² (24.2 % increase). At 1.4 V vs. RHE, NiCo12Ce (5 %)-LDH achieved 35.7 % of lactic acid conversion (2.1-fold enhancement vs. pristine LDH), 55.9 % of pyruvic acid selectivity, 45.9 % of Faradaic efficiency. This work establishes a dual-modulation strategy combining transition metal ratio optimization with rare-earth doping, providing a paradigm for designing multifunctional electrocatalysts that bridge renewable hydrogen production with biomass valorization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137833"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highly efficient oil-water separation system using urea-bearing porous organic polymer: A comparative study on oil removal efficiency of mixtures and emulsions","authors":"Alireza Bahramian ,&nbsp;Narges Zarei ,&nbsp;Morteza Torabi ,&nbsp;Meysam Yarie ,&nbsp;Mohammad Ali Zolfigol","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Industrial oily wastewater has led to environmental problems and economic demands, creating an urgent requirement to develop eco-friendly and stable oil-water (O/W) separators. In this work, the separation process of oil from the O/W mixtures and emulsions was studied by a packed-bed column filled with a combination of urea-bearing porous organic polymer (UPOP), prepared by solvothermal synthetic route, and granular activated carbon (GAC). The urea moieties of UPOP enhance oil removal performance via hydrogen bonding interactions of oil with urea moieties. The mesoporous structure with a suitable specific surface area (22.2 m²/g) of the UPOP powder is beneficial to the diffusion of oil droplets, thereby showing excellent oil absorption capacity (1630.5 mg/g) and high oil removal efficiency. In addition, the UPOP exhibits high thermal stability (up to 300 ℃) and high chemical stability in acidic and basic conditions. The proposed packed-bed column shows high performance in one-step separation with a maximum oil removal efficiency of 94.5 % and 83.4 % for the O/W mixtures and emulsions, respectively. The packed-bed length, initial oil concentration, and volumetric flow rate of inlet feed, respectively, showed the highest effect on the oil removal efficiency. The proposed column filled with the optimum UPOP/GAC weight ratio can rapidly and selectively absorb oil droplets without any significant change in its performance after 10 times, thereby making it a promising candidate for industrial oil-water separation. The Carman-Kozeny model predicts below ±5.0 % deviation in the prediction of pressure drop per bed length, which agrees with the experimental data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137823"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic microspheres with ATRP-synthesized carboxyl polymer brushes for chemiluminescence immunoassays","authors":"Di Ma,&nbsp;Xianfeng Chu,&nbsp;Xinyu Yang,&nbsp;Xiangyu Cai,&nbsp;Shaojun Hu,&nbsp;Lingxiang Guo,&nbsp;Zhifei Wang,&nbsp;Hong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137837","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137837","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The surface characteristics of magnetic microspheres critically determine their performance in bioseparation applications including protein purification, enzyme immobilization, nucleic acid extraction, and immunoassays. To optimize microsphere performance, ATRP-synthesized polymer brushes can be grafted onto their surfaces to introduce high-density functional groups (e.g., amino, carboxyl, and tosyl groups). This strategy significantly enhances functional group density by constructing interfaces with extended polymer brushes. This study employs polymer chains grafting strategy to substantially increase functional group density through long-chain polymer interfaces on magnetic microspheres, thereby optimizing surface properties and expanding application potential. Initially, carboxylated polymer chains with controlled molecular weights (5.2–51.2 kDa) are synthesized <em>via</em> atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), followed by strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) for surface grafting. To further suppress non-specific adsorption associated with protein conjugation, we also design and synthesis binary copolymer brushes, P(GMA-NH-COOH-co-GAMA), incorporating gradient glucose-based monomers (GAMA). Experimental results demonstrate that ZY-P(G)-1 magnetic microspheres modified with 10.2 kDa PGMA-NH-COOH polymer brushes exhibit a surface carboxyl group density of 1.384 mmol g⁻¹. The bovine serum albumin (BSA) coupling capacity increases to 44.21 mg g⁻¹, with the chemiluminescence high-value signal-to-background (S/B) ratio showing a 7.97-fold enhancement compared to conventional carboxyl microspheres (ZY-COOH). ZY-P(GG)-100:2 microspheres modified with amphiphilic polymers containing 2 mol% GAMA maintain superior detection sensitivity with 1.74-fold higher S/B ratio than ZY-P(G)-1 while significantly reducing nonspecific protein adsorption. This study establishes a synergistic engineering approach for precise surface modification through coordinated optimization of spacer dimensions and functional monomer ratios. The developed platform significantly enhances the capture efficiency of low-abundance biomarkers, providing a novel material basis for high-precision in vitro diagnostic reagent development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137837"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144694846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Atomistic insight into pore-throat transport of Pickering emulsions stabilized by Janus nanoparticles","authors":"Yuanhao Chang ,&nbsp;Senbo Xiao ,&nbsp;Rui Ma ,&nbsp;Xiang Li ,&nbsp;Fanhua Zeng ,&nbsp;Jianying He","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137832","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137832","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Janus nanoparticle (JNP)-stabilized Pickering emulsions have demonstrated significant potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. However, the fundamental transport mechanisms governing their behavior in porous media remain elusive. With the help of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, both the nanomechanical properties of Pickering emulsions and their transport dynamics through nanopore throat are systematically investigated. The emulsion demonstrates remarkable mechanical strength under compression, primarily due to the robust, structured JNP shell. Emulsions with a higher JNP surface coverage (<span><math><mi>ϕ</mi></math></span>) exhibit enhanced stability and reduced susceptibility to the Jamin effect during passage through hydrophilic pore throats, which is attributed to their lower interfacial tension. It’s noteworthy that the smaller opening angle of the pore throat is proved to intensify the geometric confinement, aggravates the Jamin effect, and increases the likelihood of JNPs detaching and adhering to the surface. While in the transport through hydrophobic pore throat, the JNP shell serves as an effective barrier that mitigates unfavorable interactions between the oil core and residual surface oil. Such shielding effect is particularly pronounced in emulsions with high <span><math><mi>ϕ</mi></math></span>, enabling them to maintain structural integrity and stability throughout transport. The findings provide atomic-scale insights into the structure-property-transport relationships of JNP-stabilized emulsions, offering fundamental guidance for the rational design of nanoparticle-stabilized systems for EOR and other porous media applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137832"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrosion inhibition of mild steel in acidic media using benzimidazolium salts: An experimental and computational approach","authors":"Issam Azghay ,&nbsp;Burak Dikici ,&nbsp;Chahid Zannagui ,&nbsp;Mounia Dalouh ,&nbsp;Aydın Aktaş ,&nbsp;Yetkin Gök ,&nbsp;Amin Lahhit ,&nbsp;Abdellah Elyoussfi ,&nbsp;M’hamed Ahari ,&nbsp;Soufian El Barkany ,&nbsp;Amin Salhi","doi":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates and compares the corrosion inhibition performance of two benzimidazolium salts (BIS1 and BIS2), previously synthesized by Albayrak et al. and Sarı et al., respectively. These inhibitors were tested in a 1 M hydrochloric acid solution on mild steel. The two compounds differ in their substituents: BIS1 features an electron-donating group, whereas BIS2 contains an electron-accepting substituent. Electrochemical methods, including potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and weight-loss measurements, consistently demonstrated superior inhibition efficiency for BIS1, exceeding 95 % at 10⁻³ M concentration. The performance disparity between BIS1 and BIS2 further increased with rising temperatures. Surface characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy revealed that BIS1 forms a denser and more adherent protective film on the steel surface. Molecular modeling techniques, including Density Functional Theory (DFT), Tight-binding DFT (DFTB), and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, provided further insights, showing that the enhanced performance of BIS1 is primarily attributed to its higher HOMO energy, facilitating stronger chemisorption via electron donation to the metal surface. These findings challenge the conventional understanding of purely electrostatic adsorption for cationic inhibitors and underscore the significant potential of substituted benzimidazolium salts as efficient corrosion inhibitors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":278,"journal":{"name":"Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects","volume":"726 ","pages":"Article 137815"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}