Prevention of rebar corrosion by natural antioxidants derived from green tea

Abstract

Natural antioxidants are organic compounds with a potential to impede corrosion activity. In this research, the potential of natural antioxidants (in the form of green tea) as a corrosion inhibitor has been demonstrated. It has been shown that green tea extract inhibited the corrosion of steel reinforcing bar (rebar) within concrete applications. The extract induced the formation of a protective layer on the rebar surface, which in turn increased the overall corrosion resistance. Additionally, these natural inhibitors possess higher inhibition efficiencies when compared with well-established commercial solutions (in the form of calcium nitrite).