Corrosion performance of steel reinforcement in simulated concrete pore solutions in the presence of imidazoline quaternary ammonium salt corrosion inhibitor

•The IQS was used as corrosion inhibitor for reinforced concrete for the first time.•The IQS presented a superior corrosion inhibition performance in SCPs.•The mechanism is due to its adsorption on steel surface, forming a protecting film.

In this study, the corrosion inhibition performance of steel reinforcement in the simulated concrete pore solution containing 3.5 wt.% NaCl in the presence of a tailored cationic type of imidazoline quaternary ammonium salt corrosion inhibitor was characterized by electrochemical measurements and surface analysis. The results indicate that the IQS can significantly improve the polarization resistance and pitting potential and reduce the corrosion current density of reinforcement. The main inhibition mechanism is most likely due to the adsorption of the corrosion inhibitor on the steel surface, leading to a reduced corrosion current density of the steel reinforcement.