Abstract
Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy TOFSIMS was used to identify the different fragmented species associated with the adsorption of a triazole based inhibitor on alloyed thin films. Copper, cobalt-iron, nickel-manganese, and nickel-iron alloyed films were immersed in an inhibited aqueous solution. Inspection of the positive and negative spectra indicated different fragmented complexes of the inhibitor. In some cases the primary metal of the alloy was where the inhibitor fragments adsorbed thus excluding or lightly covering the secondary alloy. In many cases there are different and unique ratios of inhibitor fragments to metal sites. The different ratios could equate to the protection efficacy of the inhibitor per metal protected and add insight to the bonding of the inhibitor to the substrate. In addition, it is suspected that alloy selection may have an impact on the efficacy of an inhibitor.