Evaluation of N-piperazinyl-2-furanylketone as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M HCl solution: Combined experimental and theoretical approach

Steel corrosion in acidic environments, poses a formidable challenge with conventional inhibitors, often burdened by issues of toxicity, and environmental impact. This study, addresses this challenge, by investigating the suitability of N -piperazinyl-2-furanylketone (NPF) as a green inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M HCl, employing a combined experimental and theoretical approaches. NPF demonstrated an outstanding inhibition efficiency of 93.6% under optimal conditions with an inhibitor concentration of 0.5 mM, at 303 K, showcasing its potential as an environmentally friendly alternative. The efficacy of NPF aligns well with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm indicating a robust and specific interaction between NPF molecules and the steel surface. Further analysis revealed a positive correlation between inhibition efficiency and both immersion time and temperature, suggesting a gradual formation of a protective film on the metal surface. It is worth noting that increasing the temperature enhanced the effectiveness of the tested inhibitor, indicating a thermally activated adsorption process. Theoretical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) supported the experimental results and provided insight into the molecular interactions at the interface. The calculated electron transfer parameter highlighted the positive interaction between NPF and iron atoms enhancing the observed inhibition mechanism. The study, giving the energy of NPF to be green inhibitor corrosion, among others, depicts a very effective method that can be used for evaluating the mechanism and efficacy of these ecofriendly alternatives. Besides synthetic applications studies can also be designed on real world scenarios hence, also capable of optimizing the performances of NPF for bulk industrial productions.