Electrochemical and AFM studies of mussel adhesive protein (Mefp-1) as corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel

Adsorption of mussel adhesive protein (Mefp-1) derived from the marine mussel Mytilus edulis and its corrosion inhibition for carbon steel were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements in NaCl solutions at pH 4.6. The results indicate that the Mefp-1 confers significant corrosion inhibition of carbon steel, and the chloride concentration of the solution has an influence on the inhibition efficiency. Within a short exposure time, the inhibition efficiency is higher in the solution with a higher chloride concentration, whereas, for longer exposure time, up to one week, higher inhibition efficiency was obtained in the solution with a lower chloride concentration. AFM imaging was used both ex situ and in situ to investigate Mefp-1 adsorption. The in situ AFM measurements enable the protein adsorption on carbon steel to be visualized in real time in the solution. The AFM images illustrate how the Mefp-1 layer is formed on carbon steel. Measurements using bovine serum albumin (BSA) were also performed for comparison. The results showed that BSA also confers significant corrosion inhibition of carbon steel even though the BSA film formation process is slightly different from that of Mefp-1.