Eco‐friendly corrosion inhibitors: inhibitive action of ethanol extracts of Garcinia kola for the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4 solutions

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the inhibitive effect of ethanol extracts of Garcinia kola (EXG) for the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4 solutions. The study is another trial to find a cheap and environmentally safe inhibitor for mild steel corrosion.Design/methodology/approachThe inhibition efficiency has been evaluated using the hydrogen evolution technique at 30‐60°C. The mechanism of adsorption inhibition and type of adsorption isotherm were proposed based on the trend of inhibition efficiency and kinetic data.FindingsThe results obtained indicate that EXG inhibits the corrosion of mild steel in acidic medium and that the inhibition efficiency increases with an increase in the concentration of ethanol extracts and decreasing temperature. The inhibition efficiency increased on addition of potassium iodide to EXG, indicating synergism. The experimental data obeyed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm as well as the El‐Awady et al. thermodynamic‐kinetic model. The activation energy of inhibition of 6.8508 KJ/mol calculated for the corrosion process suggests that the EXG molecules are physically adsorbed on the metal surface.Research limitations/implicationsFurther investigations involving electrochemical studies such as polarization method will provide further enlightenment on the mechanistic aspect of the corrosion inhibition.Originality/valueThis paper provides new information on the possible application of EXG as an environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitor under the specified conditions. This environmentally friendly inhibitor could find possible applications in metal surface anodizing and surface coatings.