Pongamia Pinnata as a Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel in 1N Sulfuric Acid Medium

Abstract

Due to the harmful nature of the traditional inhibitors, in recent years researchers have an interest in using eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors. The plant extracts exhibit efficient corrosion inhibition properties due to the presence of a mixture of organic constituents starting from terpenoids to flavonoids. In the present study the inhibition of corrosion of mild steel in 1N H2SO4 solution using the leaf extract of Pongamia pinnata (P. pinnata) was investigated by the weight loss method, potentiodynamic polarization method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. Characterization of the leaf extract of P. pinnata was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. The effect of temperature and immersion time on the corrosion behavior of mild steel in sulfuric acid with different concentrations of P. pinnata was also studied. From the results it was found that the inhibition is mainly attributed to the adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the mild steel electrode surface. It was found that the adsorption of inhibitor molecules takes place according to the Langmuir, Temkin, and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. Kinetic as well as thermodynamic parameters were calculated, also confirming the strong interaction between inhibitor molecules and the electrode surface. The inhibition efficiency (I.E in %) was found to increase with increase in concentration of the inhibitor molecules and the maximum inhibition efficiency was attained at 100 ppm of the leaf extract. From the electrochemical studies it was found that the corrosion process was controlled by a mixed inhibition process and single charge transfer mechanism. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provided the confirmatory evidence for the adsorption of the extract molecules on the mild steel surface, which is responsible for the corrosion inhibition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) experiments also confirmed the presence of inhibitor molecules on the mild steel surface. From all these experimental results, it can be concluded that the leaf extract of P. pinnata acted as a good corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1N sulfuric acid medium even at lower inhibitor concentrations.