Interaction of inhibitors with corrosion scale formed on N80 steel in CO2‐saturated NaCl solution

The performance of the selected inhibitors, including thioglycolic acid (TGA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), and naphthene acid imidazolines (IM), on the bare surface of N80 steel and its scaled surface pre‐corroded in CO₂‐saturated 1%NaCl solution was investigated by weight‐loss method, electrochemical measurements using rotating cylinder electrode and surface analytical methods (SEM, XRD, and EPMA). The results indicate that there is a remarkable difference in inhibition efficiency of inhibitors on the N80 steel with and without pre‐corrosion scale. The synergistic effect between inhibitors and corrosion scale not only depends on the size of inhibitor molecules, but also depends on the interaction of the inhibitor with the corrosion scale. It shows that IM and DETA have a good positive synergistic effect with the corrosion scale formed on N80 steel, although DETA has no inhibition efficiency for bare N80 steel, which can easily enter into the apertures of the corrosion scale, and block the active sites on the metal surface and the diffusion routeways of the reactant so as to depress the corrosion of the substrate metal. While TGA shows excellent inhibition efficiency on bare N80 steel, but it has an antagonistic effect with the corrosion scale although it has a small molecular weight as well as DETA, because TGA can dissolve corrosion scale and break its integrality and protectiveness performance.