Some aspects of the role of inhibitors in the corrosion of copper in tap water as observed by cyclic voltammetry

•The presence of Fernox® inhibits both the anodic and cathodic reactions of copper in tap water, with the anodic reaction more heavily supressed.•Fernox® is more inhibitive than the individual components, BTA or TEA, and also more inhibitive than a mixture of the two.•BTA is the dominant inhibitive component of Fernox®. TEA also inhibits the reaction, but less effectively.•The inhibitors show the same degree of inhibition and the same mechanism of inhibition in hard and soft tap water.•A mechanism of inhibition is proposed whereby the inhibitor forms a film on the surface, which is reactive: surface polymerization of the reactive inhibitor is proposed.

Cyclic voltammetric examination of the corrosion and inhibition of copper in hard and soft tap-waters in the presence of a commercial inhibitor containing benzotriazole (BTA) and triethanolamine (TEA), or its separate components, is presented. The anodic and cathodic reactions are both strongly inhibited, although the anodic reaction more so. BTA is by far the dominant inhibiting component. The inhibitor forms a polymerized reactive adsorbed surface film. Inhibition of the cathodic reaction (oxygen reduction) is not due to electron resistivity of the inhibitor, but rather, by heavily reduced surface coverage of adsorbed oxygen over a wide range of oxygen reduction overpotential.