Difference in the inhibitive effect of some Schiff base compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur donors

2-(2-Hydroxybenzylideneamino)-2-methylpropane-1,3-diol (BAMP), 2-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methyleneamino)-2-methylpropane-1,3-diol (NAMP), 2-((pyridin-2-ylimino)methyl)phenol (PMP) and N-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)pyridin-2-amine (TMP) were investigated as corrosion inhibitors of mild steel in 2 M HCl solution using weight loss, polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. All measurements show that all compounds under study exhibit inhibitor properties for mild steel. Although the effect of molecular size on inhibition efficiency is observed from the results obtained between BAMP and NAMP, the introduction of heteroatoms into the structure is seen to be more pronounced eventhough the molecular size is diminished. TMP is seen to show the highest inhibitor efficiency of 97%.