Experimental and Quantum Chemical Studies on the Corrosion Inhibition Performance of Benzimidazole Derivatives for Mild Steel in HCl

Abstract

In the present investigation, three benzimidazole derivatives, namely, 4-(phenyl)-5-[(2-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)methyl]-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (Inh I), 4-(4-methylphenyl)-5-[(2-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)methyl]-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (Inh II), and 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-[(2-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)methyl]-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (Inh III), were synthesized and investigated as inhibitors for mild steel corrosion in 15% HCl solution using the weight loss, electrochemical polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. It was found that the inhibition efficiency of these inhibitors increased with increasing concentration. The effect of temperature on the corrosion rate was investigated, and some thermodynamic parameters were calculated. Polarization studies showed that all three studied inhibitors were of mixed type in nature. The adsorption of the inhibitors on the mild steel surface in acid solution was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on inhibited and uninhibited mild steel samples to characterize the surface. The semiempirical AM1 method was employed for theoretical calculations, and the obtained results were found to be consistent with the experimental findings.