Drugs as Environmentally Sustainable Corrosion Inhibitors

Corrosion is a major industrial menace. Corrosion inhibitors are some of the best ways to counter it. However, most corrosion inhibitors used in industry are expensive and toxic. Moreover, considering the stringent environmental guidelines, most of these inhibitors fail to meet these requirements. Several reports have mentioned the application of novel environmentally friendly molecules as corrosion inhibitors. One of these prominent areas in this field is pharmaceutical products. This chapter presents an overview of the applicability of drugs as corrosion inhibitors. In addition to emphasizing the importance of drugs as inhibitors, emphasis has been put on the use of heterocyclic drug molecules as effective inhibitors. It also discusses the use of expired or leftover drugs and some of the chemically functionalized drug molecules as corrosion inhibitors. It also outlines some of the key advantages and limitations of the use of drugs as environmentally sustainable corrosion inhibitors.