Corrosion inhibition behavior of expired diclofenac Sodium drug for Al 6061 alloy in aqueous media: Electrochemical, morphological, and theoretical investigations

•Diclofenac sodium drug (DSD), as expired drug acts as an effective inhibitor for Al in acidic and saline solutions.•The inhibition efficiency of DSD depends on solution temperature.•Experimental data reveals the mixed type of inhibition of DSD in acidic solution cathodic type in saline one.•DFT studies show good adsorption and interaction of protonated state of DSD with metal surface. The behavior corrosion inhibition of aluminum alloy (Al6061) in acidic (0.1 M HCl) and saline (3.5% NaCl) solutions was investigated in the absence and the presence of expired diclofenac sodium drug (DSD) as a corrosion inhibitor. The influence of temperature and was studied using electrochemical techniques. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the surface morphology. The results showed that DSD acted as a powerful inhibitor in acidic solutions, while a moderate influence was observed with saline one. Maximum inhibition efficiency was 99.99 and 83.32% in acidic and saline solutions at 150 ppm of DSD, respectively. Corrosion current density that obtained using electrochemical technique was increased with temperature and decreased with the addition of DSD in both, acidic and saline solutions. DSD acted as a mixed-type corrosion inhibitor in acidic solution, while it affected the cathodic reaction in saline solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a significant surface damages in the absence of DSD. Quantum chemical theoretical studies were also addressed. Three states of DSD were considered in understanding the mechanism of inhibition. Normal, dissociated, and protonated states were optimized using Density Function Theory (DFT). Highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), energy gap (ΔE), dipole moment (µ), and other parameters were used to compare the performance of DSD states. Theoretical studies showed that the protonated state gave higher protection efficiency.