Investigation of a pyridazinone derivative as a corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in acidic conditions using experimental and theoretical methods

Abstract

The anti-corrosive properties of the newly synthesized compound pyridazinone, especially 2-(3-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-oxopropyl)-4-(3-nitrobenzyl)-6-phenylpyridazin-3(2 H)-one (FOPP), on carbon steel in a 1 M hydrochloric acid solution were thoroughly investigated. We used multiple techniques, including potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), surface morphology analysis, contact angle measurements, UV–visible spectrometry, and quantum chemical calculations. The maximum corrosion inhibition efficiency of FOPP was found to be 96.3 % at 10−3 M concentration and 303 K temperature. PDP studies showed that FOPP acts as a mixed-type inhibitor with anodic predominance. The hydrophobicity of the surface of the metal studied showed considerable improvement by the FOPP coating using the contact angle technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) were used to confirm the results obtained using the contact angle technique. The two methods of theoretical chemistry, namely density functional analysis (DFT) and molecular dynamics simulation, were used to gain a better understanding of the interactions between the inhibitor and the surface of the metal studied and the ability of this inhibitor to adhere to the surface of the iron and form a protective film.