Thin Films of a Complex Polymer Compound for the Inhibition of Iron Alloy Corrosion in a H₃PO₄ Solution

The etching of iron alloy items in a H₃PO₄ solution is used in various human activities (gas and oil production, metalworking, transport, utilities, etc.). The etching of iron alloys is associated with significant material losses due to their corrosion. It has been found that an efficient way to prevent the corrosion of iron alloys in a H₃PO₄ solution involves the formation of thin complex compound films consisting of the corrosion inhibitor molecules of a triazole derivative (TrzD) on their surface. It has been shown that the protection of iron alloys with a mixture of TrzD + KNCS in a H₃PO₄ solution is accompanied by the formation of a thin film of coordination polymer compounds thicker than 4 nm consisting of TrzD molecules, Fe²⁺ cations and NCS^-. The layer of the complex compound immediately adjacent to the iron alloy surface is chemisorbed on it. The efficiency of this composition as an inhibitor of iron alloy corrosion and hydrogen bulk sorption by iron alloys is determined by its ability to form a coordination polymer compound layer, as experimentally confirmed by electrochemical, AFM and XPS data. The efficiency values of inhibitor compositions 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS and 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS + 200 mM C₆H₁₂N₄ at a temperature of 20 ± 1 °C are 97% and 98%, respectively. The kinetic parameters of the limiting processes of hydrogen evolution and permeation into an iron alloy in a H₃PO₄ solution were determined. A significant decrease in both the reaction rate of hydrogen evolution and the rate of hydrogen permeation into the iron alloy by the TrzD and its mixtures in question was noted. The inhibitor compositions 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS and 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS + 200 mM C₆H₁₂N₄ decreased the total hydrogen concentration in the iron alloy up to 9.3- and 11-fold, respectively. The preservation of the iron alloy plasticity in the corrosive environment containing the inhibitor under study was determined by a decrease in the hydrogen content in the alloy bulk.