A New Inhibitor Approach to the Corrosion of Mild Steel in Acidic Solution with Long-Term Impedance Tests: A New Application Area for Hypnum cupressiforme (Bryophyta)

Abstract

The most important aspect of this study is that the effect of Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. which is a bryophyte species as a “green inhibitor” on the corrosion behavior of mild steel in 1.0 M HCl solution at 298 K is being examined for the first time. The inhibitory effect of moss extract was investigated applying electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. Nyquist diagrams were performed by EIS to examine the variation of the different concentrations of the extract with some immersion-time parameters. In addition, the surface charge of the metal in terms of the inhibition mechanism was determined by the EIS technique and as a result, it was found that the protonated inhibitor molecules were adsorbed directly onto the metal surface. The surface morphology studies of working electrodes was performed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and optical metal microscopy techniques. Electrochemical tests and surface analysis studies support each other.