The synergistic influence of polyethyleneimine-grafted graphene oxide and iodide for the protection of steel in acidizing conditions

Herein, graphene oxide (GO) was chemically functionalized with polyethyleneimine (PEI) in a single step to obtain PEI-GO, which was characterized via FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, and TEM. Additionally, for the first time, PEI-GO was employed for the corrosion mitigation of carbon steel in a solution of 15% HCl. The corrosion performance of the inhibitor was evaluated by utilizing weight loss tests, electrochemical measurements with impedance analysis, electrochemical frequency modulation, and potentiodynamic polarization studies. Thorough surface analysis was performed using 3D profilometry and static water contact angle measurements. PEI-GO was adsorbed on the steel surface and showed mixed-type corrosion inhibition behavior with the prevalence of cathodic characteristics. Additionally, potassium iodide was incorporated in the acid solution as a synergistic agent to enhance the corrosion inhibition behavior of PEI-GO. The obtained results showed that PEI-GO alone provided a high corrosion inhibition efficiency of 88.24% at a temperature of 65 °C and in the presence of KI, it showed an I.E. of 95.77% due to their synergistic effect. These interesting results demonstrate that PEI-GO can act as a potential corrosion inhibitor in acidizing conditions. The DFT-based computational studies showed that the inhibitor functioned in both its neutral and protonated forms.