Synthesis of a resorcinol-based derivative as a corrosion inhibitor for low-carbon steel in 0.5 mol L−1 HCl medium: chemical, electrochemical, and theoretical aspects

Abstract

This work illustrated the synthesis of a new simple resorcinol derivative, 4,6-dimethoxyisophthalohydrazide (DMIH) and confirmed its structure using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. The inhibiting performance of the DMIH compound in resisting the pitting action of a 0.5 mol L⁻¹ HCl solution on low-carbon steel (LCS) was assessed. The newly synthesized compound had a simple structure and was dissolved in acidic media. The efficiency of the inhibitor was examined using chemical and electrochemical methods. The DMIH compound significantly decreased the rate of dissolution of LCS in HCl solution by adsorption. The adsorption was based on the Langmuir model. The DMIH compound is adsorbed on LCS via both chemisorption and physisorption. The DMIH compound is a mixed-type inhibitor. An inhibition efficiency (IE) of 83.8% was obtained using 300 ppm of the DMIH compound at 298 K. The IE decreased to 72% as the temperature increased to 328 K. When the concentration of DMIH increased from 50 to 300 ppm, the charge transfer resistance (R_ct) increased from 134.7 to 404.8 ohm cm², and the capacitance of the adsorbed layer decreased from 38 × 10⁻⁶ to 11 × 10⁻⁶ F cm⁻². The high IE of the synthesized inhibitor was validated by the quantum characteristics. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations revealed that the DMIH compound adsorbed to the LCS quite well. The presence of a protective film on the LCS specimen was verified by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results. DMIH has significant potential to function as a corrosion inhibitor, as indicated by the comparative study between its performance and that of previously reported compounds. Although the structure of the DMIH compound is simpler than that of other inhibitors, it has been proven to be more effective.