WORLD JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

Vimala et al.

World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

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Volume 5, Issue 3, 1704-1713

Research Article

ISSN 2278 4357

BASELLA ALBA L. EXTRACT AS CORROSION INHIBITOR FOR

MILD STEEL IN ACID MEDIUM
J. Rosaline Vimala*, P. Priyadharshini and R. Helanthin Prasanthi
PG and Research Department of Chemistry, Holy Cross College (Autonomous),
Tiruchirappalli-620 002, Tamil Nadu, India.

Article Received on
17 Jan 2016,
Revised on 08 Feb 2016,
Accepted on 29 Feb 2016

ABSTRACT
Extract of Basella alba L. leaves was investigated as a corrosion
inhibitor of mild steel in 1 N HCl using conventional weight loss,
electrochemical polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy,
and scanning electron microscopic studies. The weight loss results

*Correspondence for

showed that the extract of Basella alba L. leaves is an excellent

Author
J. Rosaline Vimala

corrosion inhibitor, electrochemical polarization data revealed the

PG and Research

mixed mode of inhibition, and the results of electrochemical

Department of Chemistry,

impedance spectroscopy have shown that the change in the impedance

Holy Cross College

parameters, charge transfer resistance, and double layer capacitance,

(Autonomous),

with the change in concentration of the extract, is due to the adsorption

Tiruchirappalli-620 002,
Tamil Nadu, India.

of active molecules leading to the formation of a protective layer on

the surface of mild steel. Scanning electron microscope studies

provided the confirmatory evidence of an improved surface condition, due to the adsorption,
for the corrosion protection.
KEYWORDS: Basella alba L. acid corrosion inhibitor, electrochemical polarization,
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, mild steel.
INTRODUCTION
Mild steel finds application in many industries due to its easy availability, easy of fabrication,
low cost and good tensile strength besides various other desirable properties. It suffers from
severe corrosion when it comes in contact with acid solutions during acid cleaning,
transportation of acid, construction of ship and other chemical processes. The heavy loss of
metal as a result of its contact with acids can be minimized to a great extent by corrosion
inhibitors. Inorganic compounds like chromate, phosphates, molybdates etc., and a variety of
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organic compounds containing heteroatom like nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen are being
investigated as corrosion inhibitors.[1]
Pure synthetic chemicals are costly, some of them are not easily biodegradable and their
disposal creates pollution problem. Plant extracts are environment friendly, biodegradable,
non-toxic, easily available and of potentially low cost. Most of the naturally occurring
substances are safe and can be extracted by simple procedure. Recent literature is full of
researches which test different extracts for corrosion inhibition applications. The examples
are numerous such as fenugreek[2], olive[3], henna[4] black pepper[5] jojaba[6] occimum
viridis[7], onion, garlic[8] etc. Many of these naturally occurring substances proved their
ability to act as corrosion inhibitors for the corrosion of different metals and alloys in
different aggressive media.
Basella alba is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia
and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is known under various common
names, including Pui, vine spinach, red vine spinach, climbing spinach, creeping spinach,
buffalo spinach, Malabar spinach and Ceylon spinach among others. Basella alba is native to
the Indian Subcontinent, southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is reportedly naturalized in the
China, tropical Africa, Brazil, Belize, Colombia, the West Indies, Fiji and French Polynesia.
Basella alba is a fast-growing, soft-stemmed vine, reaching 10 metres (33 ft) in length. Its
thick, semi-succulent, heart-shaped leaves have a mild flavour and mucilaginous texture. The
stem of the cultivar Basella alba 'Rubra' is reddish-purple. Typical of leaf vegetables, Malabar
spinach is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. It is low in calories by volume,
but high in protein per calorie. The succulent mucilage is a particularly rich source of soluble
fiber. Among many other possibilities, Malabar spinach may be used to thicken soups or stirfries with garlic and chili peppers.[9]
The present study makes use of the leaves extract of Basella alba L. which are available in
plenty as corrosion inhibitor of mild steel in acid medium with various concentrations by
electrochemical and non-electrochemical methods. The use of natural product will establish,
simultaneously, the economic and environmental goals.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

Inhibitor Preparation
About 10 grams of the dried powder of leaves of Basella alba L.are taken in the round bottom
flask and continuously flushed with an extraction agent, ethanol. After maceration, the
suspension is centrifuged and the extract is collected. It is successively extracted with 6ooml
of ethanol for 48hrs. The extract was filtered using whatmann No.1 filter paper. The liquid
extract is concentrated by distilling off the solvent and then evaporating the solvent to
dryness on a water bath to remove all the alcohol from the extract and weight of the extract is
taken and kept at 4C use. This ethanolic plant extract solution is used for analyzing the
phytoconstituents and also from the crude extract various inhibitor concentration ranging
from 65ppm to 95ppm is prepared to evaluate the corrosion inhibition efficiency.
Phytochemical screening
Phytochemical screening were perfomed using standard Harborne procedure.[10]
Preparation of The Carbon Steel Specimens
Experiments were performed with commercial grade mild steel sheets available in the local
market and the elemental analysis was carried out using vacuum emission spectrometer of
model BAIRDDV4. The weight percentage composition was found to be carbon = 0.13 %,
silicon = 0.03%, manganese = 0.65 %, sulphur = 0.26%, phosphorus = 0.15%, copper = 0.016%,
nickel = 0.018%, chromium = 0.029% and iron = 98.837%. The sheets were mechanically
pressed and cut into samples of size 1 5 0.2 cm3. These samples were polished with
different grades of emery papers washed with double distilled water, degreased with acetone,
finally dried and kept in dessicator for further study.
Weight loss method
Pre-weighed mild steel specimens (in triplicate) were suspended for 3 hour in 1M HCl with
and without the inhibitor in different concentrations ranging from 65ppm to 95ppm. After the
specified time the coupons were removed from test solution, thoroughly washed with
NaHCO3 solution and de-ionised water, dried well and then weighed. The percentage of
inhibitor efficiency (IE %) for various concentrations of the inhibitor were calculated as
I.E.% = W0 - W X 100
W0

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Polarisation and impedance studies

Potentiodymamic anodic and cathodic polarization curves were obtained with a scan rate of 2
mv/s in the potential range from -0.2 mv to -0.8 mv relative to the corrosion potential (Ecorr).
Values of the corrosion current density (Icorr) were obtained by extrapolation of the cathodic
branch of the polarization curve back to Ecorr. Measurements of Rp in the vicinity of E corr
were also carried out. Impedance spectra were recorded at Ecorr in the frequency range 0 to
10000 Hz. The values were computed using Solatron 1280B.
The UV-Visible Spectra of Solutions
The possibility of the formation of film on the metal surface was examined by mixing the
respective solution and recording their UVvisible absorption spectra using Lambda 35
UVvisible spectrophotometer which is a PC controlled single beam scanning
spectrophotometer. It covers wavelength range from 200 nm to 1000 nm with a setting
accuracy of 1 nm.
Surface Analysis By FT-IR Spectroscopic Study
After the immersion period of 3 hours in acidic medium, the specimens were taken out of the
test solutions and dried. The film formed on the surface was scratched carefully and it was
thoroughly mixed so as to make it uniform throughout. FTIR spectrum of the powder (KBr)
pellet was recorded using Perkin-Elmer 1600 FTIR spectrophotometer with a resolving
power of 4 cm1.
SEM Observation
The texture and pore structure were observed under a F E I Quanta FEG 200 High
Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Phytochemical screening of plant material
The results of the screening of ethanol extracts of the leaves of Basella alba L. for the
phytochemical constituents are shown in Table -1. The results obtained show that alkaloids,
carbohydrates, pseudo tannins, chlorogenic acids, steroidal glycosides, coumarin and
flavonoids are present. These active constituents are responsible for the inhibition efficiency
of the extract.[11]

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Analysis Of The Mass Loss Data

Table 2. Shows the percentage of inhibition efficiency obtained with different concentrations
of the plant extract in HCl medium by weight loss method. The IE was found to increase with
increase in the concentration of the extract with maximum IE of 81.28% at 95ppm
concentration. There is a gradual increase in inhibition efficiency from 65ppm to 95ppm of
the inhibitor concentration. From the values of IE % it is evident that the corrosion inhibition
may be due to adsorption of the plant constituents on the metal surface. The increase in the
concentration increases the surface coverage due to adsorption which increases the active
sites on the metal surface. Hence, the inhibition efficiency increases with increase in the
concentration. Basella Alba. L. contains alkaloids, carbohydrates, pseudo tannins, chlorogenic acids,
anthocyanins, coumarin, steroidal glycosides, and flavonoids. The presence of lone pair of
electrons on the hetero atoms of these compounds facilitates the formation of co-ordinate
bonds with the metal. Most of the effective organic inhibitors used in industry have
heteroatom such as O, N and S along with multiple bonds in their molecules through which
they are adsorbed on the metal surface.[12,13]
Potentiondynamic polarization and impedance spectroscopy results
Polarisation and impedance behaviour of mild steel in 1M HCl in the presence and absence of
the plant extract is shown in the Figures 1 & 2respectively. The polarization and impedance
parameters are presented in the Tables 3 & 4 respectively. From the shape of the polarization
curves it is seen that both the anodic as well as cathodic reactions are inhibited. The Tafel
regions of the plot further indicate that the electrode reactions are kinetically controlled. The
values given in the Table 3 show that corrosion current (Icorr)decreases markedly in the
presence of extract and the magnitude of change increases with increasing extract
concentration This confirms the inhibitive action of the extract in HCl medium. With increase
in plant extract concentration, the corrosion potential (Ecorr) is not varying much.
The values of both anodic and cathodic Tafel constants ba and bc respectively are markedly
changed in the presence of the extract. This confirms the mixed mode of inhibition of the
extract. The increasing linear polarization (Rp) values also confirm the corrosion inhibitive
nature of the plant extract. The calculated values of inhibition efficiency indicate that IE %
increases with increasing extract concentration. The Nyquist plot (Figure 2) shows
semicircles with single capacitive loop and increasing diameter as the concentration of the
plant extract increases. The Cdl values shown in the Table 4 are found to decrease in the

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presence of the inhibitor. This shows that the plant constituents are adsorbed on the metal
surface resulting in a decrease in double layer capacitance. The increasing charge transfer
resistance Rct values imply reduced corrosion rate in the presence of the plant extract. Thus it
is confirmed that the plant extract BALE shows good corrosion inhibition efficiency. The
results of weight loss, polarization and impedance studies are in good agreement.
Sem Observation
The SEM photograph in Figure 3a shows that the surface of mild steel was extremely
damaged in the absence of the extract, while Figure 3b clearly shows the formation of a film
by the active Basella alba L. leaves constituents on the mild steel surface which was
responsible for the corrosion inhibition
Mechanism of adsorption
In acidic solutions, transition of the metal/solution interface is attributed to the adsorption.
Generally, two modes of adsorption were considered. In one mode, the neutral molecules of
leaves extract can be adsorbed on the surface of mild steel through the chemisorption
mechanism, involving the displacement of water molecules from the mild steel surface and
the sharing electrons between the heteroatoms and iron. The inhibitor molecules can also
adsorb on the mild steel surface based on donor-acceptor interactions between -electrons of
the aromatic/heterocyclic ring and vacant d-orbitals of surface iron. In another mode, since it
is well known that the steel surface bears the positive charge in acidic solutions[14], so it is
difficult for the protonated leaves extract to approach the positively charged mild steel
surface (H3O+/metal interface) due to the electrostatic repulsion. Since chloride ions have a
smaller degree of hydration, thus they could bring excess negative charges in the vicinity of
the interface and favour more adsorption of the positively charged inhibitor molecules, the
protonated leaves extract adsorbed through electrostatic interactions between the positively
charged molecules and the negatively charged metal surface.
Since the leaf part of the plant extract possess several heteroatoms containing active
constituents, therefore there may be a synergism between the molecules accounting for the
good inhibition efficiencies.

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Table 1: Qualitative analysis of Phytochemical constituents in the ethanolic extract of

the leaves of Basella alba L.
Phytochemical constitutents Extract
Alkaloids
++
Carbohydrates
+
Saponins
Tannins
PseudoTannins
+
Chorogenic acid
+
Anthocyanin
+
Steroidal Glycosides
+
Saponins Glycosides
Flavonoids
+
Flavones
Phenols
Coumarin
+
Anthracene Glycoside
(+) = Detected; (-) = Not detected
Table 2: Corrosion rates of carbon steel in 1M HCl in the presence and absence of the
inhibitor and the inhibition efficiencies obtained by the mass-loss method
S.No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Inhibitor
Concentration (ppm)
Blank
65
70
75
80
85
90
95

Corrosion
Rate (mpy)
38.79
11.68
11.41
11.32
9.88
9.62
7.82
7.26

Percentage
Inhibition Efficiency
69.89
70.57
70.82
74.54
75.31
79.85
81.28

Table 3: Potentiodynamic polarization parameters for mild steel in 1M HCL in the

presence of Basella alba L.extract
S. No.
1
2

Environment
Blank
Inhibitor System
(95 ppm)

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Ecorr
(mV)
-566
-515

ba
bc
(mV/dec) (mV/dec)
134.4
183.8
137.2

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Icorr
(A/cm2)
1.253 10-5

LPR
(ohm cm2)
2.6942 103

8.486 10-6

3.2899 103

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Table 4: Impedance parameters for mild steel in 1M HCL in the presence of Basella
alba L.
S. No.
1
2

Environment
Blank
Inhibitor system (95ppm)

Rt, cm2
32.34
43.33

Cdl, F/cm2
1.5770 10-7
1.179 10-7

Figure 1: Potentiodynamic polarisation of mild steel in 1M HCL with and without

Basella alba L.extract
(a) Potentiodynamic polarisation of corrosion of Mild Steel in1M HCl
(b) Potentiodynamic polarisation of corrosion of Mild Steel in the presence of Basella alba L.

Figure:2. Nyquist plot of mild steel immersed in 1M HCL with and without plant
extract
a. Niquist plot for 1MHCL
b. Niquist plot for Basella alba L.extract.

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Figure 3a: Sem image of carbon in Figure 3b: Sem image of carbon steel
1M 1M HCl
in HCl + Basella alba L.

CONCLUSION
Acid extract of Basella alba L.leaves acts as good corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1M
HCL medium. Inhibition efficiency increases with inhibitor concentration and maximum
inhibition efficiency was 81.28% at the inhibitor concentration 95ppm. Corrosion inhibition
may be due to the adsorption of the plant constituents on the mild steel surface. Polarisation
studies indicate the inhibitor to be of a mixed type inhibiting both cathodic as well as anodic
reactions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We express our sincere thanks to the Head, Department of Chemistry, the Principal and the
management (teaching and non-teaching ) staff for successful completion of this research
work.
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