Corrosion behavior of mild steel in 1 M HCl with Cyclotrichium niveum as a green inhibitor

Recently, green inhibitors are replacing classical inhibitors in the acid cleaning industry due to very low cost, environmentally friendly and none toxic. In this study, Cyclotrichium niveum is used as a potential green corrosion inhibitor to investigate the corrosion behavior of mild steel (MS) in chloride solution using electrochemical, morphological, structural and quantum chemical methods. Fifty-three flavonoids are detected in methanol extract of cyclotrichium niveum by LC/ESI-MS/MS. While icorr values decreased, Rp and inhibition efficiencies values derived from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) increased in increasing inhibitor concentrations. Maximum inhibition efficiency is found to be 97.3%, that is the almost highest value, when compared to previous studies and plant extract is classified as a mixed type inhibitor with respect to the potentiodynamic polarization (PDP). The model that best fits the experimental values is the Langmuir isotherm. The temperature effect is also studied in the range of 25-55 OC. Higher activation energy is obtained in the presence of inhibitor, suggesting that it acts as an efficient inhibitor by forming a physical barrier to the charge and mass transfer reaction, leading to reduction in corrosion rate. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopies showed the more uniform, crack and pits free structure, confirming that there is a protective film over the MS surface for inhibited solution. XPS analysis showed the existence of C, O, and Fe atoms on the MS surface. Quantum chemical calculation manifested the adsorption mechanism associated with the electronic structure of the molecules. The findings of this work can be applicable in chemical cleaning process with acid treatment.