Corrosion resistance assessment of copper, mild steel, and aluminum alloy 2024-T3 in acidic solution by a novel imidazothiazole derivative

In this study, the corrosion resistance of three different metals such as copper (Cu), mild steel (MS), & aluminium alloy 2024 - T3 (Al) in contact with a molar hydrochloric acid solution containing a novel imidazothiazole-based heterocyclic compound, namely, (E)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(6-phenylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-5-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (IMT) were evaluated. The interaction of the titled compound and the surface of the selected metals was analyzed using electrochemical techniques, Scanning electron microscope (SEM), DFT and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. EIS results reveal that the inhibition efficiency at 10−4 M is ranked as follows: 96.9% (Cu) > 95.4%, MS) > 91.0% (Al). The recorded results reveal that the IMT compound could successfully inhibit the corrosion of all studied metals. The results of EIS and PDP reveal the corrosion inhibition process is charge transfer controlled, and the studied compound acts as a mixed-type inhibitor. The inhibition mechanism involved the adsorption of the IMT compound on the metal surface via Langmuir isotherm. In addition, the IMT showed a high inhibition performance at a long immersion time of 12 h. The surface examination showed substantially lower surface degradation in all metal samples exposed to the acid in the presence of IMT. DFT gives insights into charge-sharing (donor-acceptor) interactions between inhibitor molecules and metallic surfaces. MD simulation indicates that the investigated molecule adsorbed nearly parallel to Fe (110), Cu (111), and Al (111) surfaces. The adsorption mechanism is revealed by theoretical calculations.