Gemini surfactants as corrosion inhibitors. A review

Gemini cationic surfactants (GS) are constructed from two alkylammonium monomeric salts linked by a spacer. They have both excellent surface, biocidal and anticorrosive properties. This makes them very useful innovative materials in industrial applications and everyday life. Corrosion is an ever-present phenomena that deteriorates all kind of materials. The costs of corrosion are tremendous and there is currently no way to completely stop the corrosion process. Some new solutions, such as corrosion inhibitors (CI), can only slow this process to an acceptable level. This review gives an up-to-date look on GS used as CI for iron, copper, and aluminium as well as carbon and stainless steel in various corrosive media. We also present ready-made and simple solutions that can be used in every field of industry with a particular emphasis on protection against corrosion in installations used for seawater desalination, oil and gas transmission, and the petroleum industry.