Systematic investigation of the adsorption and inhibition properties of a new clickable 1,2,3‐triazole compound for mild steel in 1 M HCl medium

The search for eco‐friendly and effective corrosion inhibitors for the acidizing processes is increasingly required. In the present study, a new 1,2,3‐triazole derivative, namely, 4‐(1‐naphthalen‐2‐ylmethyl‐1H‐[1,2,3]triazol‐4‐ylmethyl)‐morpholine (NTM), has been clicked under green click synthesis conditions and fully characterized. The inhibition performance on corroded mild steel (MS) was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and weight loss measurements. The electrochemical results indicate that NTM works as a mixed‐type inhibitor and its adsorption on the MS surface obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The corrosion process was found to be reduced at 10−3 M concentration with 94 % efficiency. An immersion time of 57.56 min using a concentration of NTM equal to 5.2×10−4 M at 298 K was selected as optimal inhibition process conditions through the Central Composite Design (CCD). These conditions were conducted to the desirability of 1.00 and 88.8 % as the expected inhibition. NTM species was adsorbed on the MS surface by physical and chemical interactions. Quantum chemical calculations performed at the DFT/6‐31G(d,p) and DFTB+ levels were used to examine the adsorption of neutral NTM and its protonated form on the MS surface, including the active centers of both species. The mode of orientations of neutral and protonated NTM on the MS surface and the corresponding adsorption energies in both gas and aqueous phases were explored by molecular simulation dynamics. New 1,2,3‐triazole derivative (NTM) was synthesized through Click reaction and fully characterized by NMR, FT‐IR, HRMS and UV‐Vis techniques. The NTM exhibits high corrosion inhibition efficiency for mild steel in 1 M HCl medium at low concentration. The structure‐adsorption properties relationship of NTM on iron surface was fully investigated.