Green Inhibitors for Corrosion Protection of Metals and Alloys: An Overview

Abstract

Corrosion control of metals is of technical, economical, environmental, and aesthetical importance. The use of inhibitors is one of the best options of protecting metals and alloys against corrosion. The environmental toxicity of organic corrosion inhibitors has prompted the search for green corrosion inhibitors as they are biodegradable, do not contain heavy metals or other toxic compounds. As in addition to being environmentally friendly and ecologically acceptable, plant products are inexpensive, readily available and renewable. Investigations of corrosion inhibiting abilities of tannins, alkaloids, organic,amino acids, and organic dyes of plant origin are of interest. In recent years, sol-gel coatings doped with inhibitors show real promise. Although substantial research has been devoted to corrosion inhibition by plant extracts, reports on the detailed mechanisms of the adsorption process and identification of the active ingredient are still scarce. Development of computational modeling backed by wet experimental results would help to fill this void and help understand the mechanism of inhibitor action, their adsorption patterns, the inhibitor-metal surface interface and aid the development of designer inhibitors with an understanding of the time required for the release of self-healing inhibitors. The present paper consciously restricts itself mainly to plant materials as green corrosion inhibitors.