The novel inhibitive action of the N-(p-ethylphenyl)thiobenzohydroxamic acid for mild steel in 1 M HCl medium: electrochemical, thermodynamic, DFT, and MD simulation study

Y Dewangan and Bhaskaran and VK Mishra and A Saxena and J Kaur and E Berdimurodov and RK Sahu and RK Bargah and J Saji and DK Verma, EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL PLUS, 140, 75 (2025).

DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-05972-3

In this study, a reasonably priced inhibitor of N-(p-ethylphenyl)thiobenzohydroxamic acid (NTHA) is presented to stop steel from corroding in HCl solution. NTHA is investigated as a potential corrosion inhibitor, and the corrosion protection activity of mild steel is evaluated in 1 M HCl as a corrosion medium. Many characterization techniques, including weight loss (WL) measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical measurements, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations study, and density functional theory (DFT), have been applied to prove the inhibition performance of NTHA against the corrosion of mild steel. Langmuir adsorption isotherm confirms the prevention of mild steel from the attack of corrosive chloride ions (Cl-) by adsorbing on the metal surface. EIS investigation favors that the NTHA works as a mixed inhibitor. The morphological changes on the mild steel surface have been investigated using surface characterization techniques, i.e., scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersion spectroscopy (EDS). The weight loss study indicates a high inhibition efficiency of NTHA of 93.69% in its optimal concentration of 0.2 g/L at 298 K. DFT analyses show good electron donor property of NTHA, followed by the formation of the chelating complex with metal cations.

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