Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Nonionic Gemini Surfactant as Corrosion Inhibitor for Carbon Steel in Acidic Solution

Abstract

A novel nonionic gemini surfactant was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopy analysis. Their surface properties were determined by surface tension measurement. The corrosion inhibition effect of the synthesized surfactant on carbon steel in 0.5 M sulfuric acid was studied using gravimetric, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The obtained results indicated that the synthesized inhibitor inhibited both the anodic and the cathodic reactions on the carbon steel surface, which reveals a mixed type inhibitor. It was found that increasing the inhibitor concentration increases the polarization resistance but decreases the double layer capacitance. Also, the negative value of the Gibbs energy (Δ) revealed that adsorption of the inhibitor molecules on the metal surface is spontaneous.

Keywords:

• Corrosion
• Gemini surfactant
• Inhibitors
• Surface tension
• Thermodynamic parameters