Opuntia ficus-indica as a durable and eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor on AISI 410 stainless steel in $$0.5~\hbox {M}\,\hbox {H}_{{2}}\hbox {SO}_{{4}}$$

Abstract

In the dental office, surgical instruments must be sterilized for each patient, following their contamination by saliva and blood. Repeated sterilization cycles cause corrosion. A worn out and corroded instrument may cause toxicity to the patient. The aim of our study is to improve the corrosion resistance of orthodontic pliers during sterilization using green inhibitors. The behaviour of AISI 410 stainless steel with respect to corrosion was studied in a $$0.5~\hbox {M H}_{{2}}\hbox {SO}_{{4}}$$ , using cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) as a green inhibitor. Temperature effect on OFI efficacy was studied for different ranges (25, 35 and $$45^{\circ } \hbox {C}$$ ). The study was carried out using the weight loss method, the stationary electrochemical techniques (polarization curves), the transients (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), and the scanning electron microscopy associated with X-ray dispersive energy spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations. OFI behaves as a mixed inhibitor, with a physisorbed adsorption obeying to Langmuir isotherm and, with an efficacy ranging from 95.12 to 15% (v/v) obtained after 12 h immersion at a temperature of $$25^{\circ } \hbox {C}$$ . The SEM–EDX and AFM observations confirm the obtained results. In conclusion, OFI improves corrosion resistance of AISI 410 stainless steels in $$0.5~\hbox {M H}_{{2}}\hbox {SO}_{{4}}$$ at $$25^{\circ } \hbox {C}$$ .