Corrosion inhibition performance and mechanism of triethanolamine-triisopropanolamine rust inhibitor in the simulated concrete pore solution

In this research, aiming to deal with the accelerated corrosion deterioration of steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete in harsh environments, a highly efficient rust inhibitor (triethanolamine (TEA)-triisopropanolamine (TIPA)) (abbreviated as TT), which TEA and TIPA compounded in a ratio 4:6, was proposed. The synergistic rust inhibition effect of TEA and TIPA on steel in the simulated concrete pore solution (SCPS), and its corrosion inhibition performance were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), dry and wet cycling, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. The results showed that TT inhibitor could obviously inhibit the corrosion of steel in the SCPS and could inhibit both cathode and anode. The electrochemical corrosion inhibition performance was the most excellent at the dosage of 1.0 %, and the maximum corrosion inhibition efficiency (η1) reached 95.39 %. After 150 times of dry and wet cycling, the percentage of the corrosion area (S), and corrosion inhibition efficiency (η2) with 1.0 % TT inhibitor were 9.3 % and 84.03 %, respectively, and the mass loss rate (M) decreased by 68.4 %, indicating a better rust inhibition performance. The adsorption of the TT inhibitor conformed to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and inhibited the corrosion of steel by forming a protective film on steel surface through physicochemical adsorption. This study is of great significance to provide new perspectives and improvement measures to build up the deterioration and extend the service life of reinforced concrete in harsh environments. •TT inhibitor is an economic and efficient organic rust inhibitor.•TT inhibitor alleviated the corrosion of steel.•Electrochemical tests and wet/dry cycle tests to study the rust inhibition effect.•Both electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization curves were conducted.•The relation between the rust inhibition effect and rust inhibitor dosage was studied.