Dendrimers: a new class of corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 1 M HCl: experimental and quantum chemical studies

Abstract

The inhibition properties of two ammonia cored dendrimers have been investigated for mild steel corrosion in 1 M hydrochloric acid solution using chemical, electrochemical, surface and quantum chemical calculation methods. It was observed that inhibition efficiency increases with increasing the concentration of both the dendrimers and maximum efficiency was obtained at 50 ppm (50 mgL− 1) concentration. Potentiodynamic study suggested that investigated dendrimers behaved as mixed inhibitors and their adsorption on mild steel surface obeyed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) examinations of mild steel surface confirmed the inhibition behavior of investigated inhibitor molecules. Atomic force microscopic (AFM) study revealed that studied compounds increases the surface smoothness of AFM micrographs by adsorbing on the metallic surface. Several quantum chemical calculations parameters were calculated and the results obtained were found to be consistent with the experimental findings.