Abstract
The use of corrosion inhibitors is the one the most economical and practical means of controlling metallic corrosion in different corrosive media. Interest on the use of eco-friendly organic compounds as corrosion inhibitors has extended to the use of polymers to inhibit metallic corrosion. The use of polymers as corrosion inhibitors has attracted attention and has gained wide acceptance in recent times. This has been attributed to a number of factors namely: (i) they are low cost and stable to metallic materials in acid media, (ii) they possess multiple adsorption sites, (iii) through their functional groups, they form complexes with metal ions and on the metal surface these complexes occupy a large area, thereby blanketing the surface and protecting the metal from corrosive agents present in the solution. A number of synthetic and natural polymers as metallic corrosion inhibitors have been investigated and reported. As an update to previous review work on the use of polymers as corrosion inhibitors, the present review presents most of the contributions made to the literature on the use of polymers as corrosion inhibitors of diverse metals in different corrosive media in the last four (2010-2013) years.
Highlights
Metals have continued to be a choice raw material in areas such as structural, fabrication, electrical and electrochemical, hot-dip galvanizing, etc
We have reported the use of polyacrylamide as inhibitor for aluminum in HCl solution [15], carboxymethyl cellulose for mild steel in sulphuric acid medium [16] and detailed information on the utilization of polymers as metal corrosion inhibitors in different corrosion inducing environments can be found in our earlier review [17] and in that of Kalaivani et al [18]
Inhibition efficiency has been found to be greatly influenced by the concentration of inhibitor, polymer molecular weight, structure of inhibitor, and temperature
Summary
Metals have continued to be a choice raw material in areas such as structural, fabrication, electrical and electrochemical, hot-dip galvanizing, etc This usage stem from the many interesting properties of metals which include: high melting and boiling points; characteristic lustre; malleability; ductility; hardness with great tensile strength; relatively high densities; and good conductivity. The organic corrosion inhibitors, receiving considerable attention because of their high solubility in aqueous corrosive environments, ease of adsorption on the metal surface, stability of the adsorbed film, and effectiveness of the adsorbed film against aggressive ions present in the medium of which they are use [11,12,13], the tedious synthetic procedures and the exorbitant prices of most organic corrosion inhibitors have come under severe criticisms. This article focuses on recent reports on the utilization of polymers as metal corrosion inhibitors and the modification done to improve upon the inhibiting forces of polymers in different corrosion inducing environments. The recent development of application of quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic simulations to understand the interactions of polymers used as corrosion and metal substrates have been highlighted
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