The inhibition performance of morpholinium derivatives on corrosion behavior of carbon steel in the acidized formation water: Theoretical, experimental and biocidal evaluations

[Display omitted] •Three cationic surfactants were synthesized and their structure confirmed.•The inhibition efficiency reached 93.1% after immersion in the inhibited solution.•SEM analysis confirms the formed protective inhibitor film on the steel surface.•Theoretical and experimental results were found compatible. The aim of the present study is to synthesis and explore the inhibition influences of three morpholinium cationic surfactants (coded: MCS-10, MCS-12, and MCS-14) on the carbon steel corrosion in petroleum wells formation water containing 3 M HCl solution at different temperatures. The chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by FTIR, 1HNMR analysis. The surface properties of the surfactants were investigated via the surface tension measurements. Inhibition efficiencies obtained from weight loss were in good agreement and they were up to 92.2, 92.8, and 93.1% for MCS-10, MCS-12, and MCS-14, respectively. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior of mild steel was studied in the range of 298–343 K. Villamil adsorption isotherm was found to be the more fitted model for the adsorption process description. Also, the biocidal activity for the synthesized morpholinium surfactants was studied. The parameters of DFT and molecular dynamic simulation were found adequately correlated with the obtained experimental results. Surface morphology study through scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed a significant improvement on the surface morphology of the steel plate in the presence of MCS-14 in the corrosive solution.