Advances in green inhibitors for corrosion protection of magnesium and its alloys: A comprehensive review

Magnesium and its alloys serve as contemporary light-weight materials offering both structural and functional advantages across various industrial sectors. Nonetheless, their weak corrosion resistance limits the diverse practical applications of magnesium and its alloys. Therefore, it is urgent to reduce the corrosion rate of magnesium. Introducing corrosion inhibitors either through direct addition to the solution or by embedding them within surface coatings represents an efficient and cost-effective strategy for mitigating magnesium alloy corrosion in aqueous environments. Numerous commonly employed corrosion inhibitors carry potential hazards for ecological systems and human well-being. Therefore, the development of green corrosion inhibitors that do not contain toxic compounds is necessary. This review article focuses on the application of green inhibitors for the corrosion protection of magnesium alloys in different types of solutions. Herein, amino acids, carboxylates, drugs, hydroxyquinolines, ionic liquids, natural polymers, plant extracts, and Schiff bases are considered as main groups of green corrosion inhibitors. The adsorption behavior and inhibition properties, efficiency, and mechanism as well as the influential factors on the performance of green inhibitors against the corrosion of magnesium alloys based on the experimental and theoretical studies are discussed in this review. This review aims to provide a valuable comprehensive reference for future research work in the field of eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors.