Corrosion control of mild steel using 3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-amino-1,2,4-triazole in normal hydrochloric acid medium

The inhibition performance of the 3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-amino-1,2,4-triazole (4-MAT) on mild steel in normal hydrochloric acid medium (1 M HCl) at 30 °C was tested by weight loss, potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. This organic compound inhibits the acidic corrosion even at very low concentration, reaching a value of inhibition efficiency up to 98% at a concentration of 3 × 10−4 M. The results obtained from the different corrosion evaluation techniques are in good agreement. Polarisation curves indicate that 4-MAT is a mixed inhibitor, affecting both cathodic and anodic corrosion currents. Data, obtained from EIS measurements, were analyzed to model the corrosion inhibition process through appropriate equivalent circuit model, a constant phase element (CPE) has been used. The adsorption of 4-MAT on the steel surface, in 1 M HCl solution, obeys to Langmuir’s isotherm with a very high negative value of the free energy of adsorption ΔG°ads (chemisorption). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried out to establish the mechanism of corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl medium in the presence of 3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-amino-1,2,4-triazole (4-MAT).