Elsevier

Applied Surface Science

Volume 412, 1 August 2017, Pages 464-474
Applied Surface Science

Full Length Article
Study of yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate to promote surface interactions with AS1020 steel

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.03.219Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate is a new corrosion inhibitor alternative to chromate technologies.

  • The inhibition performance is increased with increase of the inhibitor concentration.

  • Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate mitigates corrosion by promoting random distribution of minor anodes.

  • Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate is a good candidate for substitution of chromate inhibitors.

Abstract

Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate (Y(4-NO2Cin)3) was added to an aqueous chloride solution and studied as a possible corrosion inhibition system. Electrochemical techniques and surface analysis have been powerful tools to better understand the corrosion and inhibition processes of mild steel in 0.01 M NaCl solution. A combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Potentiodynamic polarization (PD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and wire beam electrode (WBE) techniques was found to be useful in the characterization of this system. The result indicated that Y(4-NO2Cin)3 is able to effectively inhibit corrosion at a low concentration of 0.45 mM. Surface analysis clearly shows that the surface of steel coupons exposed to Y(4-NO2Cin)3 solution remained uniform and smooth, whereas the surface of steel coupons exposed to solution without inhibitor addition was severely corroded. The results suggest that Y(4-NO2Cin)3 behaves as a mixed inhibitor and mitigates corrosion by promoting random distribution of minor anodes. These are attributed to the formation of metal species bonding to the 4-nitrocinnamate component and hydrolysis of the Y(4-NO2Cin)3 to form oxide/hydroxides as a protective film layer.

Introduction

Metal corrosion is an electrochemical process that can lead to premature failure of infrastructure in critical areas such as in the oil and gas, aviation and building industries as well as in chemical plants and in water treatment. Despite the developments in corrosion resistant alloys over the past few decades, carbon steel still constitutes an estimated 99% of the material used in the oil industry. It is usually 3–5 times cheaper than stainless steels, the most cost effective option [1]. However, due to poor corrosion resistance in such expected aggressive environments, several protection methods are employed for engineered alloys, for example, use of alloying elements [2], [3], [4] coatings [5], [6] or inhibitors [7], [8], [9]. Among these methods, the cost savings can only be realized by adding a corrosion inhibitor to the environment.

McCafferty and Maji et al. [10], [11], [12] indicated that the chromate-based systems are the most efficient corrosion inhibitors. Chromates have the CrO42− ion, which is adsorbed on the metal surface through the oxygen atoms to form a highly corrosion resistance layer, therefore, it has been used extensively for corrosion resistance. However, the toxicity associated with chromates has recently led to their use being reduced. Furthermore, imidazoline and their derivatives are typical examples of safe, effective organic corrosion inhibitors. Zhang and Ramachandran et al. [13], [14] demonstrated that imidazoline and their derivatives showed anodic and cathodic behaviors as a mixed inhibitor. However, imidazoline and their derivatives have been found to aggravate localized corrosion in the presence of chloride environments due to the formation of a small number of major anodes, resulting in highly concentrated anodic dissolution [15]. Therefore, there is a need to investigate new, more efficient, and environmentally friendly alternatives to chromate and imidazoline technologies.

Currently, a concept developed by various researchers encompasses the new approach of designing safer and environmentally friendly compounds by combining effective inhibiting ions [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]. Rare earth organic compounds have undergone rapid development in recent decades and can be applied in designing new protective systems. The potential of REM salts to mitigate corrosion of mild steel was first reported in a patent by Goldie and McCarroll, revealing that most of them were cathodic inhibitors [21]. Hinton et al. [22] also investigated lanthanide salts as corrosion inhibitors, showing the expected results with high inhibition effectiveness. In recent years, many studies have focused on synthesizing rare earth metal compounds combined with organic inhibitor molecules to develop rare earth-based corrosion inhibitors acting as mixed inhibition types. It has been well studied that by combining a rare earth metal with an organic ligand to form a multifunctional inhibitor that combines the inhibitive properties of the two components. There is often a superior inhibition than either of the individual components at the same concentration. It has been suggested that the rare earth metal and the Fe from the steel can both bond to the carboxylate component of the inhibitor and result in the formation of a protective, bimetallic film. It was concluded that rare earth organic compounds show great potential as environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors for both steel and aluminum substrates [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28]. These compounds retard both anodic and cathodic reactions as a mixed inhibitor and lead to improve corrosion resistance. The aim of the present work is to develop a new rare earth organic compound (Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate – Y(4-NO2Cin)3) and investigate its corrosion inhibition mechanism and efficiency for mild steel (AS1020) in an aqueous chloride solution.

Section snippets

Chemicals and materials

Yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate (Y(4-NO2Cin)3) was synthesized for use as a corrosion inhibitor. The details of synthesis and characterization can be found in the previous publication [29]. The compounds including YCl3 and trans-4-nitro-cinnamic acid were purchased from Sigma Aldrich. Y(4-NO2Cin)3 was added to 0.01 M NaCl solution to make final concentrations of 0.00, 0.02, 0.15, and 0.45 mM using reagent grade sodium chloride, distilled water, and 12 h of stirring. The steel coupons of 1 cm × 1 cm × 0.3 cm

Effect of Y(4-NO2Cin)3 inhibitor on electrochemical properties

Representative potentiodynamic polarization curves of the steel immersion in 0.01 M NaCl solution without and with Y(4-NO2Cin)3 addition at different concentrations are shown in Fig. 1. The corrosion parameters determined from these curves are listed in Table 2. The percentage inhibition efficiency (η) was determined by the following equation:Inhibitionefficiencyη(%)=icorroicorricorro×100%where iocorr and icorr are the values of the corrosion current density without and with the inhibitor

Conclusions

  • 1.

    The results showed the corrosion inhibition properties of yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate for AS1020 steel in 0.01 NaCl solution over a range of inhibitor concentrations from 0.00 to 0.45 mM.

  • 2.

    The yttrium 4-nitrocinnamate compound showed increased inhibition for AS1020 steel at higher concentration. Addition of Y(4-NO2Cin)3 forms a protective film layer and improves the protective film and charge transfer resistance, which play important roles in corrosion properties.

  • 3.

    Surface analysis indicated that a

Acknowledgements

This work is funded by PetroVietnam University under grant code GV1601. The authors are also grateful for the use of XPS equipment at the Centre for Materials and Surface Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

References (41)

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    Fig. 8(a) shows the ATR-FTIR spectra of deposits on a mild steel surface immersed in an aqueous NaCl solution. The absorption peaks at 1161, 1021, 746 cm−1 correspond to iron oxide, namely lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) [76–78], and another peak between 600 and 500 cm−1 probably correspond to 588 cm−1 due to magnetite [79]. It also shows the broadband from 3200 to 2800 cm−1, probably due to O-H stretching vibration that can be attributed to the hydroxyl groups of iron hydroxide/oxyhydroxide.

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P.V. Hien, MEng., and N.S.H. Vu, MSc., contributed equally to this work.

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