Unveiling of the adsorption potential of a new benzylidene derivative as corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel/HCl using the electrochemical, surface analysis, and quantum approach insights

The main and most ultimate aim of this investigation is to assess the role of the 1,3-bis(((E)2nitrobenzylidene)amino)propan-2-ol (PZ1) on the degradation of carbon steel (CS) subjected to 1 M HCl medium. A number of techniques are involved; including impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), UV-vis, analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to assess the efficacy of PZ1 with regard to corrosion inhibition. The electrochemical tests show that with the PZ1 in the HCl medium reduces the rate of degradation of the material in question; this decrease is considerable as we increase the level of the inhibitor in terms of concentration (10-6 to 10-3 M). Inhibitory efficacy (η(%)) culminates at 96.2 % for 10-3 M PZ1. The PDP representations proved that the PZ1 acted as a mixed-type compound. EIS diagrams revealed that as PZ1 concentration was raised; polarization resistance (Rp) was also increased, resulting in both increased and decreased double-layer capacitance. The PZ1 stays attached to the CS surface, respecting the adsorption-isotherm of Langmuir. The analysis and characterisation techniques report that the PZ1 adsorbs and protects the CS surface. The DFT, DFTB(PDOS), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the interaction type of the PZ1 with the CS surface.