High-efficiency corrosion protection for carbon steel in 1 M HCl using a hydrazone-based inhibitor: experimental...

The current work scrutinizes the use of 2-acetylpyridine-α-naphthoxyacetyl hydrazone (HA2PNA) as an inhibitor for its potential to reduce the dissolution of carbon steel (CS) in 1 M HCl. The inhibitory behavior of HA2PNA is confirmed via several approaches, including mass loss (ML), potentiodynamic polarization (PP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The obtained outcomes demonstrate that raising both inhibitor concentration and temperature resulted in enhancing inhibition potency. The adsorption of HA2PNA follows the Langmuir isotherm. Based on PP, HA2PNA acts as a mixed inhibitor. Surface examinations were performed utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The collected outcomes demonstrate that a preservative film of HA2PNA has developed on the CS. Also, UV-visible spectroscopy was operated to establish the probability of a complexation between the metal and HA2PNA. To validate the experimental results, Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are employed. Thus, an expectation for the inhibition mechanism was established.