New Biodegradable Nonionic‐Anionic Surfactants Based on Different Fatty Alcohols as Corrosion Inhibitors for Aluminum in Acidic Medium

Abstract

AbstractTwo series of eco‐friendly nonionic anionic surfactants based on itaconic acid and 1, 6 hexane diol were synthesized. The chemical structures of the prepared surfactant were confirmed by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The prepared surfactants were evaluated to prevent the corrosion of aluminum in 1.0 M HCl solution by electrochemical and chemical methods. The data obtained showed that the prepared compounds have good inhibition efficiency (IE%) even at 10−5 M concentrations and act as mixed‐type inhibitors, they do not affect the mechanism of the electrode processes, as well as the IE% increase by increasing the concentrations of the inhibitors, immersion time, and hydrophilic chain length. The high inhibition efficiency is due to the adsorption of the inhibitors molecules on the metal surface and the formation of a protective film. The surface activities of these compounds were also investigated and were correlated to their inhibition efficiencies and chemical structure. Through studying biodegradability of the synthesized surfactants we find that they are readily biodegradable in the environment and thus they are considered as eco‐friendly corrosion inhibitors. Finally, the effect of the addition of these compounds on the aluminum surface was identified by atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique.