Effect of PgTPhPBr on the electrochemical and corrosion behaviour of 304 stainless steel in H2SO4 solution

Weight-loss, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were used to study the inhibition of 304 stainless steel corrosion in 1 M H2SO4 at 50 °C by propargyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (PgTPhPBr). The inhibiting effects of propyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (PrTPhPBr) and propargyl alcohol (PA) were also studied for the sake of comparison. For the investigated compounds, Tafel extrapolation in the cathodic region gave a corrosion inhibition efficiency of 98% at 1 × 10−3 M. Adsorption of both PgTPhPBr and PA was found to follow Frumkin's isotherm while adsorption of PrTPhPBr obeys that of Temkin. In the anodic domain, PgTPhPBr acted as a good passivator. The impedance spectra recorded at the corrosion potential (Ecor) revealed that the charge transfer process in the inhibited and uninhibited states controls corrosion of 304 stainless steel.