Applied Surface Science 252 (2006) 81788184 www.elsevier.

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The inhibition of mild steel corrosion in acidic medium by 2,20-bis(benzimidazole)

Y. Abboud a,*, A. Abourriche a, T. Saffaj a, M. Berrada a, M. Charrouf a, A. Bennamara a, A. Cherqaoui b, D. Takky b
a

culaire Associe au C.N.R., Faculte des Sciences Ben Msik, Laboratoire de Chimie Organique Biomole Avenue Cdt D. EL Harti BP 7955, Casablanca, Morocco b des Sciences Ben Msik, Laboratoire de Chimie-Physique, Faculte Avenue Cdt D. EL Harti BP 7955, Casablanca, Morocco Received 3 November 2004; accepted 24 October 2005 Available online 15 December 2005

Abstract A new corrosion inhibitor, namely 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) has been synthesised and its inhibiting action on the corrosion of mild steel in acidic bath (1 M HCl) has been investigated by various corrosion monitoring techniques, such as corrosion weight loss test and potentiodynamic polarisation. The results of the investigation show that this compounds have fairly good inhibiting properties for steel corrosion in hydrochloric acid, and is a mixed inhibitor in (1 M HCl). The adsorption of this inhibitor is also found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Corrosion; Inhibition; Benzimidazole derivatives; Mild steel

1. Introduction Inhibitors are widely used in the corrosion protection of materials in several environment [1,2]. The corrosion of iron and mild steel is a fundamental academic and industrial concern that has received a considerable amount for attention [310]. Aqueous solution of acids is among the most corrosive media. The use of inhibitors is one of the most practical methods for protection against corrosion, especially in acidic media [1115]. The progress in this eld has been phenomenal in recent years and is borne out by the output of literature [16]. Acid solutions are widely used in industry, the most important elds of application being acid pickling, industrial acid cleaning, acid descaling and oil well acidizing. Because of the general aggressivity of acid solutions, inhibitors are commonly used to reduce the corrosive attack on metallic materials. Most of the well-known acid inhibitors are organic compounds containing nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen, phosphorous

* Corresponding author. Fax: +212 22 70 46 75. E-mail address: Abboudyounes@yahoo.fr (Y. Abboud). 0169-4332/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.10.060

and aromatic ring or triple bonds. It has been reported that the inhibition efciency decreases in the order: O < N < S < P [1720]. Moreover, many N-heterocyclic compounds have been proved to be effective inhibitors for the corrosion of metals and alloys in aqueous media. The inuence of organic compounds containing nitrogen on the corrosion of steel in acidic solutions has been investigated by several authors. Among them, azoles have been intensively investigated as effective steel corrosion inhibitors [2125]. Benzotriazole (BTA) and its derivatives are excellent corrosion inhibitors for mild steel and its alloys in a wide range of media, but the disadvantage of BTA is its toxicity [26]. In line with environmental protection requirement, the use of BTA is nowadays quite limited, as toxic inhibitors that are widely used in industrial processes should be replaced with new environmentally friendly inhibitors. Our research was aimed at making compounds with low toxicity and good inhibition efciency against mild steel corrosion. In a previous study, it was shown that imidazole type organic compounds are good corrosion inhibitors for many metals and alloys in various aggressive media [2729], and they are also environment-friendly [30].

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Various imidazole derivatives are secondary products in pharmaceutical industry and some of them are especially synthesised for this investigation. This paper focuses on the efciency of non-toxic 2,20 bis(benzimidazole), which is derivative of imidazole as steel corrosion inhibitor in hydrochloric acid. The investigation is performed using electrochemical methods of potentiodynamic polarisation as well as gravimetric measurements. 2. Experimental 2.1. Inhibitor Fig. 1 shows the molecular structure of the investigated compound, which has been labelled BBI. 2.2. Synthesis of BBI A mixture of 2 mol of 1,2-phenylenediamine and 1 mol of oxamide in ethylene glycol was heated slowly to 190200 8C and kept at this temperature for 12 h. The reaction mixture was slowly cooled to 100 8C and poured into ice-water with rapid stirring. The yellow insoluble material was ltered off and recrystallised from ethylene glycol with the aid of decolourising carbon, yielding 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) as a yellow microcrystalline powder which shrank with decomposition at 395400 8C but did not completely melt. The compound structure was conrmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and IR spectroscopies.
1 13

2.4. Solution The aggressive solution used was made of AR grade HCl, appropriate concentration of acid was prepared using bidistilled water. The concentration range of the inhibitor employed was 105 to 103 M. 2.5. Methods 2.5.1. Weight loss study Gravimetric experiments were carried out a double glass cell equipped with a thermostated cooling condenser. The solution volume was 100 ml. The used steel specimens had rectangular form (length = 2 cm, width = 1 cm, thickness = 0.06 cm). Maximum duration of tests was 24 h at 30 1 8C in non-deaerated solution. At the end of tests the specimens were carefully washed in ethanol under ultrasound, and then weighed using an analytic balance (precision: 0.1 mg). Three to ve measurements were performed in each case and the mean value of the weight loss has been reported. The reproducibility of the experiment was higher than 90%. Weight loss allowed us to calculate the mean corrosion rate as expressed in mg cm2 h1. 2.5.2. Electrochemical studies Experiments were carried out in pyrex cell, which has three compartments. A graphite rod was used as the counter electrode and a sutured calomel electrode (SCE) served as reference electrode. All potentials reported here were referred to the SCE. Measurements were obtained using a combined system containing potentiostat Model Amel 551, voltage scan generator Model Amel 568 and recorder type Kipp-Zonen/ BD 9. All tests have been performed in de-aerated solution under continuously stirred conditions at room temperature. Before recording the polarisation curves, the open-circuit potential was stable within 30 mn. The cathodic branch was always determined rst; the open-circuit potential was then reestablished and the anodic branch determined. The anodic and cathodic polarisation curves was recorded by a constant sweep rate 0.5 mV s1. Inhibition efciencies were determined from corrosion currents calculated by Tafel extrapolation method and tting the curve to the polarisation equation as well. 3. Results 3.1. Gravimetric measurements The corrosion of mild steel in 1 M HCl solution containing various concentrations of inhibitor was studied by weight loss measurements. The corrosion rate of mild steel is determined by using the relation W Dm St

H NMR data (in DMSO-d6): 7.267.7 (m, 2H, ArH). C NMR data (in DMSO-d6): (C3, 115.4), (C4, 122.9), (C2, 137.9), (C1, 145.5). IR (KBr) n 1620 (C N); 3250 (NH).

2.3. Specimens Corrosion tests were performed on a mild steel of the following percentage composition (wt%): 0.21 C, 0.38 Si, 0.09 P, 0.05 Mn, 0.05 S, 0.01 Al and the remainder iron. For the gravimetric and electrochemical measurements, pre-treatment of the surface of specimens was carried out, by grinding with paper of 6001200 grit, rinsing with bi-distilled water, ultrasonic degreasing in ethanol, and dried at room temperature before use.

Fig. 1. Chemical formula of 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole).

where Dm is the mass loss, S the area and t is the immersion period.

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The percentage inhibition efciency (E (%)) is calculated using the relationship   Wcorr Wcorrinh E % 100 Wcorr where Wcorr and Wcorr(inh) are the corrosion rates of mild steel in the absence and presence of organic compound, respectively. Table 1 gives the values of the efciency obtained from the weight loss measurements for different concentrations of BBI in HCl 1 M at 30 8C after 24 h of immersion. The results showed that inhibition efciency increased as the concentration of inhibitor rose from 105 to 104 M. Further increases of inhibitor concentration provide a lower degree of protection. The concentration 104 M was found to be the optimum concentration for the inhibitor. Fig. 2 shows the variation of inhibition efciency as a function of immersion time. It is evident from the gure that inhibitor efciency increases with increasing immersion time and stabilises at the values of 96% after 24 h .The increase of inhibitor efciency with time may be attributed to the formation of a barrier lm, which prevent attack of the metal surface by acid. 3.2. Polarisation measurements Evaluation of (E (%)) can also be performed through electrochemical experiments which consist of the determination of intensity/potential curves. Polarisation curves for mild steel at various concentrations of inhibitor (BBI) in de-aerated acidic solutions are shown in Fig. 3. The extrapolation of Tafel straight line allows the calculation of the corrosion current density (Icorr). The values of Icorr, the corrosion potential (Ecorr), E (%), cathodic and anodic Tafel line as function of BBI concentrations are given in Table 2. E (%) is calculated using the following formula:   Icorr Icorrinh E % 100 Icorr where Icorr and Icorr(inh) are the corrosion current density values without and with inhibitor, respectively, determined by extrapolation of cathodic and anodic Tafel lines to the corrosion potential. From Fig. 3, it is clear that both the cathodic and the anodic reaction are inhibited and the inhibition increases as the inhibitor concentration increases, but the cathode is more polarised (bc > ba).

Fig. 2. Variation of the inhibition efciency with immersion time of 104 M BBI in 1 M HCl.

Tafel lines of nearly equal slops were obtained as can be seen from Table 2. This indicates that adsorbed molecules of inhibitor have no effect on the mechanism of either mild steel dissolution or hydrogen evolution reaction [31]. Also, the addition of inhibitor molecules causes a decrease in Icorr. The decrease in Icorr with increasing concentration demonstrate the efciency of the additive compound as corrosion inhibitor of mild steel. The values of inhibition efciency increase markedly with increase of inhibitor concentration indicating that a higher coverage of inhibitor on the surface was obtained in a solution with higher concentrations of inhibitor. This result indicates that BBI exhibit both cathodic and anodic inhibition effects. Therefore, it

Fig. 3. Polarisation curves of mild steel recorded in 1 M HCl containing different concentration of BBI.

Table 1 Corrosion rate of mild steel and inhibition efciency for various concentrations of 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) for the corrosion of mild steel in 1 M HCl obtained from weight loss measurements Inhibitor Blanc Concentration (105 mol l1) 1 5 10 100 Corrosion rate (103 mg cm2 h1) 138.1 3.8 18.0 1.3 12.0 1.2 7.0 0.7 6.0 0.9 E (%) 86.96 91.3 94.9 95.6

BBI

Y. Abboud et al. / Applied Surface Science 252 (2006) 81788184 Table 2 Potentiodynamic polarisation parameters for the corrosion of mild steel in 1 M HCl containing different concentration of BBI Concentration (mol l1) Blanc 105 5 105 104 103 Ecorr (mV SCE1) 485 1.7 536 2.0 498 2.1 447 3.0 410 1.5 Icorr (mA cm2) 13.9 1.5 1.6 0.44 1.1 0.45 0.6 0.05 0.5 0.02 bc (mV dec1) 44 1.8 123 1.0 136 5.0 181 10.0 192 8.0 ba (mV dec1) 36 2.0 42 2.3 44 3.8 48 3.1 53 3.0

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E (%) 88.5 92.1 95.7 96.4

can be classied as inhibitor of relatively mixed effect (anodic/ cathodic inhibition) in 1 M HCl. The results obtained from the polarisation technique were in good agreement with those obtained from weight loss method (Fig. 4). 3.3. Effect of temperature The temperature can modify the interaction between the mild steel electrode and the acidic medium in the absence and the presence of the inhibitor. Polarisation curves for mild steel in 1 M HCl without and with 104 M of BBI in the temperature range 2050 8C are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Corresponding data are given in Table 3. In the studies temperature range, the corrosion current density increases with increasing temperature both in uninhibited and inhibited solutions and the values of the efciency of BBI are nearly constant in the studied temperature range. The corrosion current density of steel increase more rapidly with temperature in the absence of the inhibitor. These results conrm that BBI acts as an efcient inhibitor in the range of temperature studied. The corrosion reaction can be regarded as an Arrhenius-type process, the rate is given by   Ea Icorr k exp RT where k is the Arrhenius pre-exponential constant and Ea is the activation corrosion energy for the corrosion process. Fig. 7 presents the Arrhenius plots of the logarithm of the corrosion current density versus 1/T, for 1 M HCl, without and with addition of BBI. The values of the activation corrosion energy in the absence and presence of BBI were determined from the

slopes of these plots and are calculated to be Ea = 16.7 and 10.2 kJ mol1. 3.4. Adsorption isotherm Basic information on the interaction between the inhibitors and the mild steel surface can be provided by the adsorption isotherm. The surface coverage (u) of different concentrations of inhibitor in acidic media have been evaluated from weight loss measurements, using the equation: u Wcorr Wcorrinh Wcorr

Attempts were made to t these values to various isotherms including Frumkin, Langmuir, Temkin, . . .. By far the best t was obtained with Langmuir isotherm. This Langmuir model has been used for other inhibitor systems [32]. According to this isotherm, u is related to the inhibitor concentration Cinh via u Kads Cinh 1 Kads Cinh

where Kads designates the adsorption coefcient. Fig. 8 represent C(BI)/u against C(BI). A linear behaviour is found as is foreseen by the Langmuir isotherm with a linear correlation coefcient 0.9999. The straight line slope value (0.993) is near to the theoretical value (1.0). The linear coefcient (1/Kads) permits the evaluation of Kads, resulting in value of 3.12 105. The free energy variation for the adsorption process dened as DG0 = RT ln Kads, resulted in 7.4 kcal mol1 for the experimental condition of this paper. This value indicates that the interaction between BBI and the surface of mild steel occurs by physical adsorption.

Fig. 4. inhibition efciency for mild steel in 1 M HCl containing BBI: (a) weight loss measurements and (b) polarisation curves.

Fig. 5. Effect of temperature on the cathodic and anodic responses for mild steel in de-aerated 1 M HCl.

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Fig. 6. Effect of temperature on the cathodic and anodic responses for mild steel in de-aerated 1 M HCl + 104 M of BBI.

Fig. 7. Arrhenius slopes calculated from corrosion current density for mild steel in: (A) 1 M HCl and (B) 1 M HCl + 104 M of BBI.

4. Discussion Electrochemical and gravimetric methods have been employed to study the behaviour of mild steel in acid chloride solution, in the presence and absence of BBI. The results indicate that the compound in question inhibit mild steel corrosion in acid chloride media, the values of inhibition efciency increase markedly with increase of inhibitor concentration, indicating that a higher coverage of inhibitor on the surface was obtained in a solution with higher concentration of inhibitor. Many mechanisms have been proposed for the inhibition of metal corrosion by organic inhibitors. Generally, it has been assumed that the rst stage in the action mechanism of the inhibitor in the aggressive acid media is based on its adsorption on the metal surface [33]. The processes of adsorption of inhibitors are inuenced by the nature of the metal surface, the chemical structure of the organic inhibitor, the distribution of charge in the molecule, the type of aggressive electrolyte, and the type of interaction between organic molecules and the metallic surface [34,35]. In most inhibition studies, the formation of donor-acceptor surface complexes between pelectrons of an inhibitor and the vacant d-orbital of metal were postulated [3640]. Nitrogen-based compounds are effective inhibitors for mild steel corrosion in aqueous solutions [4143]. The presence of lone pairs of electrons on the nitrogen atoms of the additional nitrogen atoms delocalised and thus produce a delocalisation energy that stabilised the compound. Also, it is known that heterocyclic nitrogen compounds may also adsorb through electrostatic interactions between the positively charged nitrogen atom and the negatively charged metal surface [44].

It is also known that the adsorption of the inhibitor can be inuenced by the nature of the anions in acidic solution. The presence of Cl in the solution should be mentioned. They are characterised with strong adsorbability on the metal surface which brings about a negative charge favouring the adsorption of cation type inhibitors [45,46]. The benzimidazole is a bicycle system consisting of a ve-member ring (imidazole) combined with one benzene ring. It has two nitrogen atoms: N5 or pyrrolic nitrogen atom at the 5-position in the molecule, whose lone pair of electrons takes part in the p-electron sextet of the imidazole ring, and N6 or pyridyne nitrogen atom at the 6-position in the molecule, whose unshared electron pair remains free and facilitates the reaction with acids to give salts. It is evident from that stated above that the pyridyne N6 is a donor of electrons in BBI molecule.

Fig. 8. Langmuir isotherm adsorption model on the steel surface of BBI in 1 M HCl.

Table 3 The inuence of temperature on the electrochemical parameters for mild steel electrode immersed in 1 M HCl and in 1 M HCl + 104 M of BBI Temperature (8C) 1 M HCl Ecorr vs. SCE (mV) 20 30 40 50 490 1.0 494 1.0 491 2.0 490 0.5 Icorr (mA cm2) 13.3 1.3 21.1 1.2 26.8 1.1 63.1 3.7 1 M HCl + 104 M of BBI Ecorr vs. SCE (mV) 405 1.7 405 1.8 417 2.3 438 3.2 Icorr (mA cm2) 0.5 0.01 0.7 0.03 0.8 0.02 1.3 0.06 96.2 96.7 97 97.8 E (%)

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Fig. 9. Molecular form of BBI in an acid medium.

BBI is organic base but the presence of an imine (NH) group in the molecule determines well-outlined acidic properties as well. This means that the addition of an acid or a base to the aqueous solution of this compound will transform the neutral molecule into a cation or an anion [4749]. In 1 M HCl, the molecules of BBI protonate. The molecular and the cation form will be consecutively considered in connection with E exhibited. The performance of bis(benzimidazole) in HCl can be explained in the following way. In aqueous acidic solutions, the 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) exists either as neutral molecules or in the form of cations as indicated in Fig. 9. Thus, the adsorption of the bis(benzimidazole) as neutral molecules on the metal surface can occur directly involving the displacement of water molecules from the metal surface and sharing of electrons between the nitrogen atoms and the metal surface [50].

These heterocyclic nitrogen compounds may also absorb through electrostatic interactions between the positively charged nitrogen atom and the negatively charged metal surface [51]. In addition, in the case of aromatic diazoles, pelectron interaction between the aromatic nucleus and the positively charged metal surface may also play a role. A schematic representation of the adsorption behaviour of BBI on mild steel in 1 M HCl solution is shown in Fig. 10. When a mild steel testpiece is immersed in dilute solution of HCl containing BBI, three kinds of species can be adsorbed on its surface. If the metal surface is positively charged (Fig. 10a) with respect to the potential of zero charge (PZC), the chloride ions will rst be adsorbed on the metal surface, which in turn will attract the cationic forms of BBI and protonated water molecules. Thus, a close packed triple layer will form on the metal surface and inhibit the entry of iron ions to the solution. Hence, with an increase in the positive charge on the metal

Fig. 10. Schematic representation of ad sorption behaviour of BBI on mild steel in 1 M HCl solution: (a) mild steel surface with positive charge, (b) mild steel surface with negative charge and (c) mild steel surface at potential of zero charge.

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Y. Abboud et al. / Applied Surface Science 252 (2006) 81788184 [11] M.A. Migahed, E.M.S. Azzam, A.M. Al-Sabagh, Mater. Chem. Phys. 85 (2004) 273. l, O. Atakol, Mater. Chem. Phys. 82 (2003) 188. [12] K.C. Emregu [13] H.-L. Wang, H.-B. Fan, J.-S. Zheng, Mater. Chem. Phys. 77 (2003) 655. [14] S.A. Ali, M.T. Saeed, S.U. Rahman, Corros. Sci. 45 (2003) 253. [15] F. Bentiss, M. Traisnel, H. Vezin, H.F. Hildebrand, M. Lagrenee, Corros. Sci. 46 (2004) 2781. [16] G. Schmitt, Br. Corros. J19 (1984) 165. [17] J.G.N. Thomas, Fifth European Symposium on Corrosion Inhibitors, Ferrara, Italy, 1980. [18] B.D.C. Donnelly, T.C. Downie, R. Grezeskowiak, H.R. Hamburg, D. Short, Corros. Sci. 18 (1977) 109. [19] A.B. Tadros, Y. Abdel-Naby, J. Electroanal. Chem. 224 (1988) 433. [20] N.C. Subramanyam, B.S. Sheshardi, S.A. Mayanna, Corros. Sci. 34 (1993) 563. e, Corros. Sci. 42 (2000) 127. [21] F. Bentiss, M. Traisnel, M. Lagrene [22] P. Chatterjee, M.K. Benerjee, K.P. Mukherjee, Ind. J. Technol. 29 (1991) 191. [23] M. Elachouri, M.S. Hajji, S. Kertit, E.M. Essassi, M. Salem, R. Coudert, Corros. Sci. 37 (1995) 381. e, Corros. Sci. [24] L. Elkadi, B. Mernari, M. Traisnel, F. Bentiss, M. Lagrene 42 (2000) 703. [25] H.-L. Wang, R.-B. Liu, J. Xin, Corros. Sci. 46 (2004) 2455. [26] N.I. Sax, Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 1957. [27] Y.I. Kuzentov, Organic Inhibitors for Corrosion of Metals, Plenum Press, New York, 1996. ac, N. Galic , R. Gas parac, Corrosion 56 (2000) 1105. [28] E. Stupnisek-Lis [29] V. Sirtori, L. Lombardi, G. Redaelli, J. Electron. Mater. 26 (1997) 459. ac, A. Lonc aric , I. Cafuk, Corrosion 54 (1998) 713. [30] E. Stupnisek-Lis [31] M.B. Abo El-Khair, I.A. Abdel Hamed, Corros. Sci. 16 (1976) 169. [32] A.M.S. Abdel, A. El Saied, Trans. SAEST 16 (1981) 197. [33] R.R. Annand, R.M. Hurd, N. Hackerman, J. Electrochem. Soc. 112 (1965) 138. [34] B. Sathianandhan, K. Balahrishman, N. Subramyar, Br. Corros. J. 5 (1970) 270. [35] F. Zucchi, G. Trabanelli, G. Brunoro, Corros. Sci. 33 (1992) 1135. [36] G.K. Gomma, M.H. Wahdan, J. Mater. Chem. Phys. 39 (1994) 142. [37] G.K. Gomma, M.H. Wahdan, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 67 (1994) 2621. [38] M.S. Abdel Aal, M.H. Wahdan, G.K. Gomma, Mater. Chem. Phys. 39 (1995) 290. [39] G.K. Gomma, M.H. Wahdan, Ind. J. Chem. Technol. 2 (1995) 107. [40] F. Zucchi, G. Trabanelli, C. Monticelli, Corros. Sci. 38 (1996) 147. [41] F. Bentiss, M. Lagrenee, M. Traisnel, B. Mernari, H. Elattari, J. Appl. Electrochem. 29 (1999) 1073. [42] F. Bentiss, M. Traisnel, M. Lagrenee, J. Appl. Electrochem. 31 (2001) 41. [43] M.A. Quraishi, R. Sardar, J. Appl. Electrochem. 33 (2003) 1163. [44] Z.A. Iofa, G.N. Tomashov, Zh. Fiz. Khim. 34 (1960) 1036. [45] L.I. Antropov, E.M. Makushin, V.F. Panasenko, Inhibitors of Metal Corrosion (Russia), Technika, Kiev, 1981, p. 182. [46] I.L. Rozenfeld, Corrosion Inhibitors (Russia), Khimia, Moscow, 1977. [47] D. Ivanov, Organic Chemistry, Nauka I izkustvo, Soa, 1964. [48] Z. Hauptman, U. Graefe, H. Remane, Organic Chemistry (Bulgaria), Nauka I izkustvo, Soa, 1985. [49] S. Dyatkina, B. Damaskin, Elektrokhimya 22 (1986) 1283. [50] N. Hackerman, A.C. Makrides, J. Phys. Chem. 59 (1955) 707. [51] C.A. Man, Trans. Electrochem. Soc. 69 (1936) 105.

surface, the adsorption of BBI would increase and the BBI content of the solution would decrease. If the metal surface is negatively charged (Fig. 10b) with respect to the PZC, the protonated water molecules and the cationic forms of BBI would be directly adsorbed on the metal surface. With increasing negative charge on the metal surface, adsorption of BBI would increase and its concentration in solution would decrease. When the metal surface attains the potential at which the surface charge becomes zero, none of the ions (neither cations nor anions) adsorb on the surface through their ionic centre. A few BBI molecules may, however, become adsorbed through their planar pp-orbitals on the metal surface (which possesses vacant dp-orbitals) (Fig. 10c). 5. Conclusion The tested 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) compound inhibit the corrosion of mild steel in 1 M HCl media. Polarisation curves recording have shown that the addition of 2,20 -bis(benzimidazole) does not change the mechanism of either mild steel dissolution or hydrogen evolution reaction. 2,20 -Bis(benzimidazole) act as mixed type inhibitor but the cathode is more polarised against mild steel in acidic media. The inhibition efciency value increases with the inhibitor concentration and reaches a maximum at 104 M. The corrosion inhibition of 2,20 bis(benzimidazole) can be interpreted by a simple blocked fraction of the electrode surface related to the adsorption of the inhibitor species according to a Langmuir isotherm on the steel surface. The results obtained from polarisation curves and the weight loss are in reasonably good agreement. References
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