Gravimetric, electrochemical, surface morphological, and simulation studies of the use of expired Meftal-P drug as a novel anti-corrosive coating material for steel in 0.5 M HCl

A Saxena and J Kaur and V Mutreja and KK Yadav and AJ Obaidullah and KP Katin and E Berdimurodov and DK Verma, EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL PLUS, 140, 471 (2025).

DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06434-6

This study explores the novel but potentially effective first-time use of the expired Meftal-P drug, an anti-inflammatory drug, as a pickling agent that can reduce steel corrosion. The study is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to repurposing pharmaceutical waste. The objective of this study is to meet the need for corrosion mitigation strategies while simultaneously recycling pharmaceutical waste for beneficial uses. The study uses a range of analytical approaches, including weight loss, electrochemical methods, SEM-EDS, and simulation studies to assess how well the Meftal-P drug inhibits steel corrosion in 0.5 M HCl solution. The study's findings report a remarkable inhibition efficiency of 95.83% at 100 mg/L concentration of the Meftal-P drug. SEM examination confirms the presence of a persistent Meftal-P inhibitor layer on the steel surface, demonstrating its corrosion inhibition characteristics. Further various adsorption isotherm models were fitted with data out of which the Langmuir adsorption isotherm is the best- fitted model with R2 value of 0.996. DFT analysis of the Meftal-P drug reveals the donor-acceptor mechanism between the metal and inhibitor.

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