Anticorrosion Study for Brass Alloys in Heat Exchangers during Acid Cleaning Using Novel Gemini Surfactants Based on Benzalkonium Tetrafluoroborate

[Image: see text] For a variety of applications, the brass alloy has been utilized to replace titanium tubes in heat exchangers. Copper alloys’ high corrosion rate during the acid cleaning procedure remains a significant concern. To inhibit the corrosion of brass alloys, we prepared two novel gemini surfactants (GSs), N(1),N(3)-dibenzyl-N(1),N(1),N(3),N(3)-tetramethylpropane-1,3-diaminium tetrafluoroborate (I H) and N(1),N(1),N(3),N(3)-tetramethyl-N(1),N(3)-bis (4-methyl benzyl) propane-1,3-diaminium tetrafluoroborate (I Me), and they were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Their inhibition performance against corrosion of brass alloys in 1 M HCl was studied using electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization (PP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and electrochemical frequency modulation. The inhibition effect of the synthesized compounds was high, and it increased as the inhibitor’s concentration was increased. The maximum level of inhibition efficiency was achieved at an inhibitor concentration of 100 ppm, reaching 96.42% according to PP measurements. From Langmuir data, the mechanisms of adsorption of the two GSs on the surface of copper was found to be physisorption and chemisorption adsorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy show that the addition of the two compounds lowers the dissolution of brass ions in the corrosive solution and forms a protective layer on the surface of the brass.