Investigation of microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition of 304 stainless steel by D-cysteine in the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

•D-cys inhibited microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by P. aeruginosa.•Biofilm morphology of P. aeruginosa at different D-cys concentrations was presented.•Effect of D-cys on corrosion electrochemical behavior of stainless steel was studied.•Composition of passive film at different D-cys concentrations was characterized. The influence of D-cysteine (D-cys) on the microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of 304 stainless steel caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated in this work. Immersion tests in the sterile and P. aeruginosa-inoculated culture media with different D-cys concentrations were carried out. The results showed that the addition of D-cys inhibited the formation of P. aeruginosa biofilms on stainless steel surfaces. D-cys itself did not affect the corrosion of stainless steel but could decrease the corrosion rate of MIC of stainless steel caused by P. aeruginosa. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) analysis indicated that the biofilm inhibition effect of D-cys greatly reduced the destructive effect of the adhered P. aeruginosa cells on the passive film of the stainless steel, thus inhibiting the MIC of the stainless steel.