An efficient synthesis of electrospun TiO2-nanofibers/Schiff base phenylalanine composite and its inhibition behavior for C-steel corrosion in acidic chloride environments

Abstract

Non-precious TiO2 nanofibers (NFs) Schiff base phenylalanine (SBP) composite was designed via facile methodology; electrospinning and Schiff base loading. The as-fabricated TiO2 NFs/SBP material was investigated in terms of Field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. These physicochemical characterizations indicate the successful design of a nanocomposite of TiO2 NFs/SBP. The corrosion protection of C-steel in acidic chloride environments by the designed TiO2 NFs/SBP material was examined using electrochemical tools (open circuit potential (OCP) vs. time, linear polarization resistance (LPR) corrosion rate, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) and surface morphology investigations (FESEM/EDX and FT-IR). The findings showed that the protection capacity (EPDP%) of the individual SBP and TiO2 NFs are 85.6 and 64.8%, respectively, while the EPDP% value for TiO2 NFs/SBP composite is 97.9% at the same conditions. The as-prepared TiO2 NFs/SBP material acts as a good mixed-type inhibitor and its adsorption at the steel/HCl interface followed Langmuir's isotherm model. FESEM/EDX and FT-IR inspections established the formation of the adsorbed layer of the TiO2 NFs/SBP molecule on the electrode surface. The outcomes display that the TiO2 NFs/SBP composite could be used as an efficient inhibitor with excellent anti-corrosion features for C-steel in the acidic pickling solution.