Synthesis, structural characterization and inhibition effects of new bicatenar surfactants based of phenolphtalein on the corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M HCl: Experimental and computational insights

The objective of this work is the synthesis of new surfactants with polar head phenolphtalein and their inhibitive effect against carbon steel corrosion in acidic medium. Indeed, These compounds were synthesized by the action of the phénolphtalein on différents alkyl halides such as decyl bromide, undecyl bromide and dodecyl bromide. IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMRand mass spectra have confirmed the structure of the obtained surfactants PHC10, PHC11 and PHC12. Electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, as well as the SEM/EDX surface analysis are used to evaluate the corrosion resistance of these surfactants. In addition, theoretical methods including molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory are used to understand the mechanisms of interaction between surfactants and metal surface. The obtained results show that the synthesized surfactants significantly reduce corrosion rate, suggesting their potential application in industrial environments. This study contributes to the advancement of corrosion prevention strategies by integrating synthetic chemistry with electrochemical and theoretical analyses.