Environmentally benign Prosopis juliflora extract for corrosion protection by sorption - Gravimetric, mechanistic and...

Environmentally benign plant extract compounds have gained significant attention in the corrosion prevention applications due to their biodegradability and eco-friendliness. The adsorptive corrosion control action of Prosopis juliflora plant extract was investigated using differential mass change experiments and the mechanism was validated using Tafel and Nyquist plots. The effect of green corrosion inhibitor concentration (0-800 ppm) on corrosion rate at different solution temperatures (305.15, 310.15 and 315.15 K) in 1 M HCl was studied. The corrosion inhibitor exhibited monolayer surface coverage and confirmed by Langmuir isotherm (R² > 0.970). The negative values of Gibbs free energy (<20 kJ/mol) proved the electrostatic interaction between the inhibitor and metal surface. The enhanced energy barrier for the corrosion process was confirmed by changes in E_a in the presence of biomass-based inhibitor on the mild steel surface. Electrochemical impedance study proved that the double layer capacitance (C_dl) decreased and the resistance increased with increase in corrosion inhibitor concentration. The surface modifications on the metal were observed using scanning electroscope imaging. ATR studies were conducted for functional group identification of the corrosion inhibitor.