ABSTRACT The corrosion inhibition of mild steel (MS) in 1 M HCl acid utilising Dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) as an inhibitor has been examined using electrochemical methods (PDP and EIS), both with and without DMPA. The inhibition efficiency at 298 K was determined by increasing the inhibitor concentration (DMPA), which exhibited a maximum effectiveness of 77.93% at 400 ppm for potentiodynamic polarisation (PDP) studies. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SEM revealed a protective coating form on the metal surface. The cytotoxicity of the sample was tested in L-929 cells using an MTT cell viability assay revealing that DMPA exhibited no toxicity to mouse fibroblast cells at concentrations up to 40 µg/mL after 24 h of incubation. Density Function theory (DFT) investigations revealed that inhibitors not only transfer electrons from reactive sites to the vacant orbital of the reactive metal but also receive valence electrons from the substrate metal, establishing a protective layer on the metal surface in an acidic solution.
Read full abstract