Harnessing deep eutectic solvents for advanced corrosion protection: A review

The increasing environmental and economic concerns associated with traditional solvents have led to exploring alternate green solvents. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have garnered significant attention due to their unique properties and versatile applications. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of DES in corrosion studies. Being charged species, DES have many advantages over traditional corrosion inhibitors, including their high solubility and strong affinity for adsorbing on metallic substrates. They manifest more than 90% inhibition efficiency (%IE) at reasonably low concentrations. Their adsorption on metallic substrates mainly follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. We discuss the significance of DES as environmentally friendly solvents, emphasizing their potential to replace hazardous conventional solvents. The review highlights the efficacy of DES in inhibiting corrosion across various metals and alloys, detailing the specific interactions and mechanisms involved. Furthermore, we explore the application of density functional theory (DFT) calculations in elucidating the molecular-level interactions between DES and metal surfaces, providing insights into the fundamental aspects of corrosion inhibition. This work aims to emphasize the potential of DES in promoting sustainable corrosion inhibition measures and encouraging additional research in this field.