Monitoring corrosion and corrosion control of iron in HCl by non-ionic surfactants of the TRITON-X series – Part I. Tafel polarisation, ICP-AES and EFM studies

The corrosion inhibition characteristics of non-ionic surfactants of the TRITON-X series, known as TRITON-X-100 (TX-100), TRITON-X-165 (TX-165) and TRITON-X-305 (TX-305), on iron in 1.0 M HCl solution were studied. Measurements were conducted in 1.0 M HCl solutions without and with various concentrations of the three selected surfactants using chemical (ICP-AES method of analysis of dissolved cations) and electrochemical (Tafel polarisation and EFM) techniques at 25 °C. These measurements were complemented with SEM and EDX examinations of the electrode surface. Polarisation data showed that the non-ionic surfactants used in this study acted as mixed-type inhibitors with cathodic predominance. The protection efficiency increased with increase in surfactant concentration. Maximum protection efficiency of the surfactant was observed at concentrations around its CMC. From their molecular structure, these surfactants may adsorb on the metal surface through two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen atoms of the hydrophilic head group.