Non-toxic leguminous plant leaf extract as an effective corrosion inhibitor of UNS S30403 in 1 M HCl: Original scientific paper

Weight loss, polarization, and open circuit potential methods were used to investigate the corrosion inhibitory impact of Centrosema pubescens leaf extract on 304L austenitic stainless steel UNS S30403 in 1 M hydrochloric acid. This non-toxic extract behaves as a mixed-type inhibitor according to the polarization curves, thermodynamics and activation parameters. Both the weight loss calculations and potentiodynamic polarization investigations showed that 1.2 g L-1 was the optimal concentration of the leaf extract. While the weight loss method gave inhibition efficiency of 86.84 and 75.00 % after 10 and 60 days of immersion at the optimum concentration, polarization studies revealed inhibition efficiencies of 93.08 and 98.66 % at 303 and 333 K, respectively. The extract molecules adhered to the UNS S30403 surface according to Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The presence of the protective film on the UNS S30403 surface was confirmed by SEM, EDX, and XRD measurements. The inhibition performance of the leaf extract was noted to be a function of the extract concentration, immersion time and temperature. The FTIR analysis indicated an interaction between austenitic stainless steel UNS S30403 and the molecules of Centrosema pubescens leaf extract.