Inhibition Performance and Adsorptive Behavior of Three Amino Acids on Cold-Rolled Steel in 1.0 M HCl—Chemical, Electrochemical, and Morphological Studies

Three selected amino acids, namely, serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), and glutamine (Glu), were tested as corrosion inhibitors for cold-rolled steel (CRS) in 1.0 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions at different temperatures (283 K to 333 K). Chemical (weight loss) and electrochemical (Tafel polarization) methods were used in this study. Electrochemical frequency modulation (EFM), a non-destructive corrosion measurement technique that can directly give values of corrosion current without prior knowledge of Tafel constants, was also used. Experimental corrosion rates determined by the Tafel extrapolation method were compared with those obtained using the EFM technique and the weight-loss method. Morphologies of the corroded and the inhibited surfaces were studied by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tafel plots showed that the three tested amino acids act as mixed-type inhibitors. The three tested amino acids appeared to function through adsorption following the Temkin adsorption isotherm model. Glu was found to inhibit corrosion of steel more effectively than Ser and Thr.