An insight into green corrosion inhibitors: solution towards sustainable corrosion control
摘要
Corrosion is an inevitable physicochemical phenomenon that, although it cannot be eliminated, can be significantly retarded through appropriate mitigation strategies. From an industrial standpoint, corrosion represents a substantial economic burden, contributing no direct value to production while imposing additional maintenance, operational, and replacement costs. Conventional corrosion prevention and protection methods are often expensive and frequently associated with environmental hazards, necessitating the exploration of more sustainable alternatives. The ideal corrosion mitigation approach should be cost-effective, operationally simple, technically feasible, and, most importantly, environmentally benign. In this context, green corrosion inhibitors have emerged as a promising class of materials, generally offering an effective, low-cost, and eco-friendly solution with minimal environmental footprint. Their rising industrial relevance has spurred extensive research activity focused on their development, optimization, and application. Green corrosion inhibitors encompass a broad spectrum of substances, both traditional and recently developed. Conventional green inhibitors include plant extracts, essential oils, biomolecules, expired pharmaceuticals, rare-earth metal complexes, ionic liquids, and amino acids along with their derivatives. In contrast, modern innovations in this domain have led to the development of advanced green inhibitors such as volatile corrosion inhibitors, nanocomposite-based systems, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and MXene. These novel materials generally exhibit enhanced corrosion inhibition efficiency and align with principles of green chemistry and sustainable engineering. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of various categories of green corrosion inhibitors, highlighting key examples and their mechanisms of action. Emphasis is placed on both well-established and emerging systems, underscoring their potential to revolutionize corrosion mitigation in an environmentally sustainable manner.