Bioinspired Heterocyclic Compounds as Corrosion Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Review

Corrosion is a phenomenon that devastatingly affects innovative, industrial, and mechanical applications, especially in the oil and gas industries. The corrosion conceivably influences industrial equipment; it deteriorates the environment and lessens the equipment/infrastructure's lifetime. Considering the significant impact of corrosion in our daily lives, this review article aims to briefly discuss the significance of corrosion and different control methods with special attention on corrosion inhibitors. The classification of corrosion inhibitors based on types and their advantage/limitations, and heterocyclic compounds as potential corrosion inhibitors, mainly nitrogen‐based compounds (pyridine (1N), pyrimidine (2N), and triazines (3N) fused ring benzimidazole, etc.), and their biological significance has been discussed in detail. The mechanism, challenges, and applications of heterocyclic compounds as corrosion inhibitors in various industrial relevant corrosive environments such as acid pickling, descaling operation in the desalination plant, oil gas industry, etc., have also been highlighted in the review. Corrosion study is a multidisciplinary approach combining many areas of science and engineering. This review discusses and tabulates an enormous pool of heterocyclic corrosion inhibitors (HCIs) representing different classes of five‐ and six‐membered heterocycles.