Eco-friendly Ginkgo Leaf Extract as a Green Corrosion Inhibitor to Protect N80 Steel in 1 M HCl

Developing efficient and green corrosion inhibitors is a general trend to replace traditional toxic and harmful corrosion inhibitors, which is not an exception in the corrosion protection and pickling industry in the petroleum industry. Herein, we prepared ginkgo leaf extract (GE) as a green corrosion inhibitor by one-step water extraction. We demonstrated the anti-corrosion performance of GE on N80 steel by combining experiments and calculations. The electrochemical results showed that GE could slow down the corrosion of N80 steel in acidic environment by improving its charge transfer resistance and inhibiting its cathodic and anodic reactions. The weight loss experiments were consistent with the electrochemical test results. We explained the interaction mechanism between GE and N80 steel from the microscopic level based on the Langmuir adsorption model and computer simulation. In short, the 6-hydroxykynurenic acid molecule (from GE) was adsorbed on the surface of N80 steel through benzene rings and heteroatoms in parallel and offered excellent anti-corrosion performance for N80 steel.