Triazole-modified chitosan: a biomacromolecule as a new environmentally benign corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in a hydrochloric acid solution

In this work, a new inhibitor, triazole modified chitosan, was synthesized for the first time following chemical modification of chitosan using 4-amino-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol. The newly synthesized biopolymer (CS–AMT) was characterized using FTIR and NMR, and then it was evaluated as an inhibitor against corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid. The corrosion testing and evaluation were performed thoroughly employing the weight loss method, electrochemical measurements and surface analysis. A maximum corrosion inhibition efficiency of >95% was obtained at 200 mg L(−1) concentration of inhibitor. The adsorption of inhibitor obeyed the Langmuir isotherm and showed physical and chemical adsorption. The electrochemical study via impedance analysis supported the adsorption of the inhibitor on the surface of carbon steel, and the potentiodynamic polarization indicated a mixed type of inhibitor behavior with cathodic predominance. To get a better insight on the interaction of inhibitor molecules with the metal surface, a detailed theoretical study was performed using DFT calculations, Fukui indices analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The DFT study showed a lower energy gap of CS–AMT and the MD simulations showed an increased binding energy of CS–AMT compared to the parent chitosan and triazole moieties thereby supporting the experimental findings.