The Influence of REE β-Diketone Complexes on the Corrosion Behaviour of Mild Steel and 304 SS in 3.5% NaCl Solution

Abstract

In the present investigation, four REE β-diketone complexes, namely cerium acetylacetone, cerium hexafluoroacetylacetone, lanthanum acetylacetone, and lanthanum hexafluoroacetylacetone, were investigated as potential corrosion inhibitors for mild steel and 304 stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl solution. The corrosion-inhibition effects of the REE β-diketone complexes were investigated using weight-loss measurements and potentiodynamic polarisation scans. Surface analyses using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the morphology of the mild steel and 304 stainless steel after the weight-loss and potentiodynamic tests in 3.5% NaCl solution containing 0.5% mass per volume (m/v) concentration of the tested inhibitor. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were further used to probe the type of corrosion product film that forms on the surface of the tested samples. The obtained results revealed that the four REE β-diketone complexes are very effective inhibitors against corrosion of mild steel and 304 stainless steel in a 3.5% NaCl in a temperature range of 20–60 °C.