Effects of 2-amino-5-(ethylthio)-1,3,4-thiadiazole on copper corrosion as a corrosion inhibitor in 3% NaCl solutions

Effects of 2-amino-5-(ethylthio)-1,3,4-thiadiazole (ATD) on copper corrosion as a corrosion inhibitor in de-aerated, aerated and oxygenated 3% NaCl solutions have been studied using potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic current-time, electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS), weight loss and pH measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) investigations. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements indicated that the presence of ATD in these solutions greatly decreases cathodic, anodic and corrosion currents. Potentiostatic current-time measurements and SEM/EDX investigations also showed that the ATD molecules are strongly adsorbed on the copper surface preventing it from being corroded easily. EIS measurements revealed that the charge transfer resistance increases due to the presence of ATD, and this effect increases with oxygen content in the solution. Weight loss measurements gave an inhibition efficiency of about 83% with 1.0 mM ATD present, increasing to about 94% at the ATD concentration of 5.0 mM. Results together are internally consistent with each other, showing that ATD is a good mixed-type inhibitor for copper corrosion with its inhibition efficiency increasing in the order of oxygenated > aerated > de-aerated 3% NaCl solutions.