Theoretical investigation of inhibition of the corrosion of A106 steel in NaCl solution by di-n-butyl bis(thiophene-2-carboxylato-O,O′)tin(IV)

Abstract

This work reports results from potentiodynamic polarisation and impedance investigation, with a rotating disc electrode, of inhibition of corrosion of A106 steel in aerated, unstirred 3.0 % NaCl solutions using di-n-butyl bis(thiophene-2-carboxylato-O,O′)tin(IV) as inhibitor. These studies showed that it is a mixed-type inhibitor. Inhibition efficiency increased with increasing di-n-butyl bis(thiophene-2-carboxylato-O,O′)tin(IV) concentration and decreases with increasing solution temperature. Maximum efficiency of inhibition of the inhibitor of approximately 78 % is observed at a concentration at 10−2 M. The inhibition process was attributed to formation of an adsorbed film on the metal surface that protects the metal against corrosive agents. The adsorption isotherm confirms the applicability of Langmuir equation to describe the adsorption process. Thermodynamic functions for the adsorption process were determined. The efficiency of corrosion inhibitors and global chemical reactivity depend on such properties as energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (E HOMO), energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E LUMO), energy gap (ΔE), which were calculated. All calculation was been performed by density functional theory (DFT) using the Gaussian03W suite of software. Calculated results were usually in agreement with the experimental data.