Electrochemical Behavior and Computational Analysis of Phenylephrine for Corrosion Inhibition of Aluminum in Acidic Medium

The anticorrosion property of phenylephrine on aluminum in 0.5 M HCl is successfully reported for the first time. The experimental techniques employed included weight loss, polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and computational methods. The results show that the addition/adsorption/application of phenylephrine on the metal surface leads to significant reduction in its corrosion rate (CR). It was found that phenylephrine shows the maximum of 97 pct inhibition at 4000 ppm at 298 K. The results from potentiodynamic polarization revealed that phenylephrine acts as a mixed type of inhibitor. The mode of adsorption of the inhibitor on the aluminum surface followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were adopted to elucidate the inhibition mechanism of the inhibitor on the surface of the metal. Surface analysis was done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies.