Systematic Analysis of the Effect of Benzene on the Corrosion Inhibition Performance of Imidazoline Derivatives: Experimental and Theoretical Research

Imidazoline derivatives are widely used to prevent corrosion due to their toxicity and mitigation potential. The present study deals with the synthesis of two imidazole Schiff derivatives (JSMP and JSPP) based on imidazole hexanoate (JSMZ). The corrosion mitigation potential and mechanism in 1.0 mol L^-1 HCl solution were studied with a focus on the influence of increasing the number of phenyl groups. The inhibitive performance was investigated by weight loss and electrochemical experiments. The accuracy of the corrosion protection mechanism was verified through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) + energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the corrosion inhibition mechanism was further verified through theoretical simulations (density functional theory and molecular dynamics). JSMP and JSPP formed a defensive layer over the surface of Q235. As the concentration of the corrosion inhibitor and the number of phenyl rings increased, the corrosion protection ability also increased gradually. The obtained corrosion protection effectiveness was 94.95% at 2.0 mmol L^-1. JSMP and JSPP belong to a mixed type and predominantly cathodic inhibitors, which spontaneously adsorb on metal surfaces and follow Langmuir isotherm adsorption.