Corrosion inhibition of mild steel by alkylimidazolium ionic liquids in hydrochloric acid

The acid corrosion inhibition process of mild steel in 1 M HCl by 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chlorides (BMIC) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate (BMIM]HSO₄) has been investigated using electrochemical impedance, potentiodynamic polarization and weight loss measurements. Potentiodynamic polarization studies indicate the studied inhibitors are mixed type inhibitors. For both inhibitors, the inhibition efficiency increased with increase in the concentration of the inhibitor and the effectiveness of the two inhibitors are in the order BMIM]HSO₄ > BMIC. The adsorption of the inhibitors on mild steel surface obeyed the Langmuir's adsorption isotherm. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior in the presence of 5 × 10⁻³ M of inhibitors was studied in the temperature range of 303-333 K. The associated activation energy of corrosion and other thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy of activation (ΔH), entropy of activation (ΔS), adsorption equilibrium constant (K_ads) and standard free energy of adsorption (ΔG_ads) were calculated to elaborate the mechanism of corrosion inhibition.