Evaluation of inhibition performance of methylimidazolium ionic liquids on surface of mild steel in sulfuric acid

In the present study, the microwave irradiation approach was used to synthesize two methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids (MImILs), specifically 1-Heptyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [HMImBr] and 1-Benzyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [BzMImBr]. Several spectroscopic methods have been used to characterize the produced compounds. Gravimetric and electrochemical techniques were employed to examine their ability to prevent corrosion of the mild steel in a 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution. Amongst all the evaluated ionic liquids, [BzMImBr] having an aromatic ring instead of hexyl ((–CH₂)₅–CH₃) hydrocarbon of [HMImBr] manifests better inhibition efficiency of 95.49 % at 1000 ppm concentration. The experimental ionic liquids negatively impact both the anodic and cathodic Tafel reactions, exhibiting mixed-type inhibition properties, as demonstrated by the findings of the potentiodynamic polarization investigations. Through their adsorption employing their electron-rich centres, the examined ionic liquids create a corrosion-protective covering, and their adsorption follows the Langmuir isotherm model. Negative values of ΔG_ads indicate the spontaneous nature of [HMImBr] and [BzMImBr] adsorption, whereas values between −20 and −40 KJ mol⁻¹ indicate the physio-chemisorption mode of adsorption. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques were used to assess and evaluate surface morphology. The DFT-based analysis indicates that aromatic rings played a significant role in the charge sharing (donation and acceptance) in [BzMImBr].