Corrosion inhibition of aluminum in 1 M H3PO4 solutions by ethanolamines

The inhibitive effect of the investigated compounds (ethanolamine (I), diethanolamine (II) and triethanolamine (III)) on the corrosion behavior of aluminum in 1 M H3PO4 solution using weight loss, galvanostatic polarization and quantum chemical calculation methods was studied. The inhibition efficiency was found to depend on type and concentration of the additives and also on temperature. The effect of addition of halide ions to various concentrations of these compounds has also been studied. The apparent activation energy (Ea) and other thermodynamic parameters for the corrosion process have also been calculated and discussed. The galvanostatic polarization data indicated that these inhibitors were of mixed-type. The slopes of the cathodic and anodic Tafel lines (βc and βa) are approximately constant and independent of the inhibitor concentration. The adsorption of these compounds on aluminum surface has been found to obey the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. Some quantum chemical parameters and Mulliken charge densities for investigated compounds were calculated by the AM1 semi-empirical method to provide further insight into the mechanism of inhibition of the corrosion process. The theoretical results are then compared with experimental data.