Structural, theoretical and corrosion inhibition studies on some transition metal complexes derived from heterocyclic system

Bishydrazone ligand and its Zn-complex: synthesis, characterization and estimation of scalability inhibition mitigation effectiveness for API 5L X70 carbon steel in 3.5% NaCl solutions

Bishydrazone ligand, 2,2'-thiobis(N'-((E)-thiophen-2-ylmethylene) acetohydrazide), H2TTAH and its Zn- complex were prepared and characterized through elemental analysis and various spectroscopic performances as well as (IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass and (UV-Vis) measurements. The synthesized complex exhibited the molecular formula [Zn2(H2TTAH)(OH)4(C5H5N)3C2H5OH] (Zn-H2TTAH). To assess their potential as anti-corrosion materials, the synthesized particles were assessed for their effectiveness for API 5L X70 C-steel corrosion in a 3.5% NaCl solution using electrochemical methods such as potentiodynamic polarization (PP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Additionally, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to examine the steel surface treated with the tested inhibitors, confirming the establishment of an adsorbed protecting layer. The results obtained from the PP plots indicated that both H2TTAH and Zn-H2TTAH act as mixed-type inhibitors. At a maximum concentration of 1 × 10-4 M, H2TTAH and Zn-H2TTAH exhibited inhibition efficiencies of 93.4% and 96.1%, respectively. The adsorption of these inhibitors on the steel surface followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and it was determined to be chemisorption. DFT calculations were achieved to regulate the electron donation ability of H2TTAH and Zn-H2TTAH molecules. Additionally, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were conducted to validate the adsorption configurations on the steel surface and gain insight into the corrosion inhibition mechanism facilitated by these molecules.