The Effect of Imidazole and 2-Methyl Imidazole on the Corrosion of Mild Steel in Phosphoric Acid Solution

Two azole compounds viz., Imidazole (IM) and 2-Methylimidazole (2-MIM) were studied to investigate their inhibiting action on corrosion of mild steel in phosphoric acid ($H_3PO_4$) solution by mass loss and polarization techniques at 302K-333K. It has been found that the inhibition efficiency of the all inhibitors increased with increase in inhibitor concentration and decreases with increasing temperature and also with increase in acid concentrations. The inhibition efficiency of these compounds showed very good inhibition efficiency. At 0.5% of IM and 2-MIM in 1N and 5N phosphoric acid solution at 302K to 333K for 5 hours immersion period, the inhibition efficiency of 2-Methylimidazole found to be higher than Imidazole. The adsorption of these compounds on the mild steel surface from the acids has been found to obey Tempkin's adsorption isotherm. The values of activation energy ($E{\alpha}$) and free energy of adsorption (${\Delta}G{\alpha}ds$) were also calculated. The plots of log $W_f$ against time (days) at 302K give straight line which suggested that it obeys first order kinetics and also calculate the rate constant k and half life time $t_{1/2}$. Surface was analyzed by SEM and FITR spectroscopy.