Inhibitory effect of new azole derivative in the corrosion of aluminum in acidic medium: common electrochemical and electrochemical noise investigation

1-(2,4-Dimethylphenyl)-5-amino-1H-tetrazole (DAT) nanoparticles were synthesized, and its inhibiting action on the corrosion of Aluminum AA1005 alloy (Al) in sulfuric acid was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Inhibition efficiency increases as inhibitor concentration increases. A good correlation was observed between the potentiodynamic studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with electrochemical noise measurements. Hence, it seems that the electrochemical noise (EN) method can be applied as a complementary quantitative technique to study the corrosion behavior of inhibitors. The effect of inhibitor concentration on the interpretation of noise resistance and spectral noise impedance was evaluated. Furthermore, quantum chemical calculations were employed to provide further insight into the mechanism of inhibition by DAT. It was shown that the adsorption of inhibitors on the AA1005 surface takes place through both physical and chemical adsorption. The best fit to the experimental data was obtained using Langmuir adsorption isotherm. K e y w o r d s: aluminum, polarization, impedance, electrochemical noise, adsorption, nanostructure