Corrosion Inhibitors

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Corrosion inhibitors are chemical substances that, when added in small amounts to the
environment in which a metal would corrode, will reduce, slow down or prevent corrosion of the
metal. It have widespread application in suppressing or at least mitigating the corrosion process
of metals in different fields, spanning from industrial sectors to construction materials to surface
treatments for cultural heritage.
In oil and gas industry, one of the materials used is plant extracts which serves as green
corrosion inhibitors for different metal surfaces and corrosive media. Natural extracts have been
widely used to protect metal materials from corrosion. The efficiency of these extracts as
corrosion inhibitors is commonly evaluated through electrochemical tests, which include
techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and
weight loss measurement. The inhibition efficiency of different extract concentrations is a
valuable indicator to obtain a clear outlook to choose an extract for a particular purpose. A
complementary vision of the effectiveness of green extracts to inhibit the corrosion of metals is
obtained by means of surface characterizations; atomic force microscopy, scanning electron
microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis are experimental techniques widely
used for this purpose. Moreover, theoretical studies are usually addressed to elucidate the nature
of the corrosion inhibitor—metal surface interactions.
In addition, calculations have been employed to predict how other organic substances behave
on metal surfaces and to provide experimental work with fresh proposals. This work reports a
broad overview of the current state of the art research on the study of new extracts as corrosion
inhibitors on metal surfaces in corrosive media. Most constituents obtained from plant extracts
are adsorbed on the metal, following the Langmuir adsorption model. Electron-rich regions and
heteroatoms have been found to be responsible for chemisorption on the metal surface, whereas
physisorption is due to the polar regions of the inhibitor molecules. The plant extracts compiled
in this work obtained corrosion inhibition efficiencies above 60%, most of them around 80–90%.
The effect of concentration, extraction solvent, temperature, and immersion time were studied as
well. Additional studies regarding plant extracts as corrosion inhibitors on metals are needed to
produce solutions for industrial purposes.
CONCLUSION
The most recent reports on plant extracts that have been evaluated to act as corrosion
inhibitors on metal surfaces, mostly in steel, are briefly reviewed. Many variables can be
explored to evaluate a plant extract as corrosion inhibitor: concentration, extraction solvent,
temperature, and immersion time. The effectiveness of a corrosion inhibitor must be evaluated
by at least two electrochemical techniques such as PP, EIS, WL, and others. Constituent
compounds of the plant extracts are commonly adsorbed on the metal and are described by the
Langmuir model: through physisorption, chemisorption, or mixed mechanisms. Physisorption is
usually explained by the interactions among the polar regions of the inhibitor molecules on the
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metal surface. Chemisorption is due to electron sharing between the inhibitor molecule, from
electron-rich regions and heteroatoms, and the metal surface. Phytochemicals obtained from
extracts, mostly heterocyclic compounds, are suitable for robust interaction with the metal
surface and consequently for the inhibition of corrosion. Theoretical studies, within density
functional theory and molecular dynamics theoretical frameworks, are mostly used to elucidate
the adsorption mechanism and inhibitor–metal interactions. Lastly, some new contributions on
copper and aluminum corrosion inhibition by plant extracts have been discussed as well. Plant
extracts obtained corrosion inhibition efficiencies above 60%, most of them around 80–90%. The
most important challenge is to have an extract or to isolate the main component that has an
inhibition efficiency greater than 90% according to the norm NRF-005-PEMEX- 2009.
Moreover, specific compounds can be isolated and studied, with the aim of producing them in
large quantities required for the industry.
REFERENCES
Miralrio and Vasquez 2020, Plant Extracts as Green Corrosion Inhibitors for Different Metal
Surfaces and Corrosive Media: A Review, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y
Ciencias, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey 64849, N.L., Mexico
C. Monticelli, in Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry, 2018
Rare Earth-Based Corrosion Inhibitors, 2014

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C. Monticelli, in Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry, 2018

Rare Earth-Based Corrosion Inhibitors, 2014

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