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 Author's personal copy

Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Surface Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apsusc

Corrosion inhibition in 2.0 M sulfuric acid solutions of high strength

maraging steel by aminophenyl tetrazole as a corrosion inhibitor
El-Sayed M. Sherif a,b,∗
a
Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), Advanced Manufacturing Institute, King Saud University, PO. Box 800, Al-Riyadh
11421, Saudi Arabia
b
National Research Centre (NRC), Electrochemistry and Corrosion Laboratory, Department of Physical Chemistry, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki,
12622 Cairo, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The corrosion of high strength maraging steel after varied immersion times in concentrated solution,
Received 1 October 2013 2.0 M, of sulfuric acid has been investigated. The work was also extended to study the effect of 5-(3-
Received in revised form aminophenyl)-tetrazole (APTA) on the inhibition of the steel corrosion. The study has been carried out
17 November 2013
using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization and scanning elec-
Accepted 20 November 2013
tron microscope (SEM) along with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX) investigations. EIS spectra
Available online 28 November 2013
showed that the corrosion and polarization resistances decrease with increasing the immersion time of
the steel before measurement and increase in the presence of APTA and the increase of its concentration.
Keywords:
5-(3-Aminophenyl)-tetrazole
Polarization data agreed with the EIS measurements and indicated that the increase of immersion time
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy increases the corrosion of steel by increasing its corrosion current and corrosion rate and lowering its
High strength maraging steel polarization resistance. On the other hand, the addition of APTA and the increase of its concentration min-
Scanning electron microscopy imized the corrosion of steel through decreasing the corrosion current and corrosion rate and increasing
Sulfuric acid the polarization resistance at all exposure test periods. SEM and EDX investigations confirmed that the
inhibition of the maraging steel in the 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions is achieved via the adsorption of the APTA
molecules onto the steel protecting its surface from being dissolved easily.
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Iron and its alloys have been one of the most important and
widely used materials in our daily life because of its so many appli-
cations in industry. Maraging is a steel grade that has high nickel
content and results from the ageing of martensite that is obtained
at normal cooling rates [1]. This type of steel alloy has been widely
used in many tooling applications in industry such as aircraft,
aerospace, wind tunnel models, high performance shafting, gears,
fasteners, landing gear components, missile and rocket motor cases,
nuclear and gas turbine applications. In general, maraging steels are
a class of ultra-high strength steels that are hardened by a metal-
lurgical reaction in which carbon is not involved [2]. It has been
reported that these steels are composed from the precipitation of
intermetallic compounds during the ageing process of martensite
at about 480 ◦ C [3,4]. The use of acids as pickling solutions is quite
common to remove scales and corrosion products and to clean
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 1146 78938/966 5332 03238;
fax: +966 1146 70199/966 1467 0199.
E-mail addresses: emsherif@gmail.com, esherif@ksu.edu.sa
the surface of metals [5–8]. Scale and corrosion products have a
negative effect on performances and efficiencies of the equipment,
which is why periodic de-scaling and cleaning in acidic pick-
ling solutions are necessary. Therefore, corrosion of high strength
maraging steel grade and its inhibition in acidic pickling solutions
have attracted the attention of numerous investigators [1,3,9–12].
The purpose of adding a corrosion inhibitor within the acidic pick-
ling solution is to eliminate the effect of acid in attacking the surface
of steel, which in turn decreases the corrosion process [13].
There is a great economical incentive in developing methods
and materials to alleviate corrosion, which conies only from a
good understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in
this complex phenomenon [14,15]. The corrosion and corrosion
inhibition of maraging steels in sulfuric acid solutions have been
investigated by few scientists [1,3,9,10]. It was found [1,10] that
maraging steels have higher corrosion resistance in acidic solu-
tions compared to tempered martensite alloy steels. Heterocyclic
compounds, especially nitrogen-based ones such as azole deriva-
tives are effective inhibitors for many metals and alloys [16–19].
This is because azole derivatives containing polar groups includ-
ing nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen and heterocyclic compounds with
polar functional groups have been reported to be good corrosion

0169-4332/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.11.110
 Author's personal copy

E.-S.M. Sherif / Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196 191

inhibitors [16–26]. The molecules of these compounds form an 20

adsorbed protective film on the metal surface via their functional
15 (a)
groups, which leads to isolating the corrosive media from being in

-Z" / Ω cm2
contact with the structure to be protected. 10
The present study aims to investigate the effects of exposure
5
time, namely 0, 90 and 180 min on the corrosion and corrosion
mitigation of high strength maraging steel in concentrated sulfuric 0 2
acid, 2.0 M H2 SO4 , pickling solutions using 5-(3-aminophenyl)- 1 3
-5
tetrazole (APTA) as a corrosion inhibitor. The work has been
performed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and -10
potentiodynamic polarization measurements along with scanning 0 10 20 30 40
2
electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analyzer invesi- Z' / Ω cm
tations.
(b)
2. Experimental details
3
10
2

2
|Z| / Ω cm
2.1. Materials and electrochemical cell 1
Sulfuric acid (96% H2 SO4 , Merck) and 5-(3-aminophenyl)-
tetrazole (APTA, Alfa-Aesar, 96%) were used as received. A maraging 1
steel electrode with a square shape and surface dimensions of
1 × 1 cm was employed for the electrochemical tests. The chemi- 10
-2
10
-1
10
0
10
1
10
2 3
10
4
10 10
5

cal composition of the high strength maraging steel used was as

follows: 0.0325 wt% C, 0.012 wt% Cr, 11.16 wt% Ni, 1.76 wt% Mo,
1.11 wt% W, 0.641 wt% Ti, 0.102 wt% Al, and the rest was iron.
A conventional electrochemical cell accommodates only 200 mL
with a three-electrode configuration was used. The three electrodes
were the maraging steel as working, a platinum foil as counter (aux-
iliary), and Ag/AgCl (in the saturated KCl) as a reference electrode,
respectively. Each experiment was carried out using fresh steel sur-
face and new portion of the test solution. The working electrode
for electrochemical measurements were prepared by attaching an
insulated copper wire to one face of the sample using an aluminum
conducting tape, and cold mounted in resin. The rods were then left
to dry in air for 24 h at room temperature. To prevent the possibil-
ity of crevice corrosion during measurement, the interface between
sample and resin was coated with Bostik Quickset, a polyacrylate
resin. Before each run, the maraging steel rod was ground succes-
sively with metallographic emery paper of increasing fineness up
to 1200 grit then cleaned using doubly-distilled water, degreased
with acetone, washed using doubly-distilled water again and finally
dried with dry air.
2.2. Corrosion techniques
An Autolab Potentiostat (PGSTAT20 computer controlled) oper-
ated by the general purpose electrochemical software (GPES)
version 4.9 was used to perform the electrochemical experiments.
The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests were per-
formed at corrosion potentials over a frequency range of 100 kHz to
100 mHz, with an ac wave of±5 mV peak-to-peak overlaid on a dc
bias potential, and the impedance data were collected using Power-
sine software at a rate of 10 points per decade change in frequency.
The potentiodynamic polarization curves were obtained by scan-
ning the potential in the forward direction from −0.60 V to 0.0 V vs.
Ag/AgCl at a scan rate of 0.001 V/s. All electrochemical experiments
were carried out at room temperature.
2.3. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive
X-ray (EDX) investigations
The SEM images were obtained by using a JEOL model JSM-
6610LV (Japanese made) scanning electron microscope with an
energy dispersive X-ray analyzer attached for acquiring the EDX
analysis.
Frequency / Hz
Fig. 1. EIS (a) Nyquist and (b) Bode impedance plots obtained for high strength
maraging steel after 0.0 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M
APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements
EIS is a powerful technique that has been employed to study
the corrosion and corrosion inhibition for different metals and
alloys in corrosive media [5–8]. Our EIS measurements were carried
out in order to report the kinetic parameters for the steel/sulfuric
acid solution interface after different exposure periods. The EIS (a)
Nyquist and (b) Bode impedance plots obtained for high strength
maraging steel after 0.0 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions
containing (1) 0.0 M APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M
APTA, respectively. It is clearly seen from the Nyquist spectra
(Fig. 1(a)) that the high strength steel in acid solution alone (curve
1) shows only one distorted semicircle that its diameter is very
small and increases in the presence of APTA and the increase of
its concentration. This was confirmed by the curves obtained by
the Bode impedance (Fig. 1(b)), where the impedance of the inter-
face, |Z|, for the steel in H2 SO4 in the absence of APTA (curve 1)
recorded the minimum values over the whole frequency range,
although it increases with the decrease of frequency. On the other
hand and in the presence of 1 × 10−3 M APTA (curve 2), the val-
ues of |Z| increased over the whole frequency range and further
increment were obtained with the increase of APTA concentra-
tion to 5 × 10−3 M (curve 3). The increase of the diameter of the
semicircle as well as the increase of |Z| in the presence of APTA
and the increase of its concentration decreases the corrosion of
high strength maraging steel in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions. This agrees
with the work of Mansfeld et al. [27], in which they stated that the
higher the impedance, particularly at low frequencies, the higher
the passivation of the surface against corrosion.
In order to study the effect of immersion time on the corrosion
and corrosion inhibition of HIGH STRENGTH steel in 2.0 M H2 SO4
solutions in the absence and presence of APTA molecules, the EIS
spectra were collected after 90 min and 180 min of immersing the
steel in the test solution. Figs. 2 and 3 show (a) Nyquist and (b)
Bode impedance plots for the steel that was immersed in 2.0 M
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192 E.-S.M. Sherif / Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196

10
8 (a)
6
-Z" / Ω cm2

4
2
Fig. 4. The equivalent circuit used to fit the experimental EIS data obtained for
0
1 2 3 maraging steel after its immersion in the different concentrations of sulfuric acid.

-2
-4 and that effect increases with increasing time of contact between
0 4 8 12 16 20 the acid and the steel. While, the presence of APTA increases both
Z' / Ω cm2 the diameter of the obtained semicircle and values of |Z| and that
increases with the increase of APTA concentration, particularly with
(b) increasing immersion time.
10
3 The Nyquist spectra plotted in Figs. 1–3 were fitted to a best
2

1 equivalent circuit model as shown in Fig. 4. The EIS parameters

|Z| / Ω cm

2 obtained from Fig. 4 is list in Table 1. The symbols of the circuit

shown in Fig. 4 can be defined as follows; RS represents the solu-
tion resistance, Q is the constant phase elements (CPEs), Rp1 is a
1 polarization resistance and can be defined as the charge transfer
resistance [5,6,17], Rp2 is another polarization resistance, and L is
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 an inductance. Table 1 shows that the values of RS , Rp1 , Rp2 and
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
L decrease, while the value of Q (CPEs) increase by the increase of
Frequency / Hz immersion time from 0 min to 180 min for the high strength steel
in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions that had no APTA molecules. On the other
Fig. 2. EIS (a) Nyquist and (b) Bode impedance plots obtained for high strength hand, the presence of APTA and the increase of its concentration
maraging steel after 90 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M increase the values of RS , Rp1 , Rp2 and L as well as decrease the value
APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively.
of CPEs. The decrease of RS , Rp1 and Rp2 and L values with time in
sulfuric acid alone confirms that the increase of immersion time of
H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M APTA, the electrode before measurement increases the corrosion of steel
and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, after 90 min and 180 min, respectively. and decreases its corrosion resistance. This is due to the increased
It is obvious from Figs. 1–3 that increasing the immersion time of severity of sulfuric acid with time, which leads to continuous dis-
steel in the absence of APTA from 0 to 90 and further to 180 min solution of the steel and prevents its surface from developing any
decreases the diameter and the value of |Z|, which indicates that layer to protect it from being attacked. The increase of RS , Rp1 ,
elongating the immersion time increases the corrosion of steel. This and Rp2 in the presence of APTA and with the increase of its con-
is due to the corrosiveness action of the sulfuric acid that does not tent indicates that APTA molecules have the ability to increase the
allow the steel surface to develop oxide layers or corrosion products solution and corrosion resistance of the maraging steel surface and
that effect increases with increasing APTA concentration in the acid
solution. The EIS data thus confirm that APTA is a good corrosion
6 inhibitor for high strength maraging steel in concentrated sulfuric
(a) acid pickling solutions.
4
-Z" / Ω cm 2

3.2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive

2 X-ray (EDX) investigations

0
1 2 3 Fig. 5 shows (a) the SEM micrograph obtained for the marag-
ing steel surface after its immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 for 90 min;
and (b) the corresponding EDX profile analysis. In order to inves-
-2
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 tigate the effect of APTA molecules on the surface of the maraging
2 steel in the presence of 2.0 M H2 SO4 test solution, SEM micro-
Z' / Ω cm graph and EDX profile analysis were also collected for the steel
10 surface that was immersed for 90 min in a solution containing 2.0 M
(b) H2 SO4 + 1 × 10−3 M APTA and the SEM images are shown in Fig. 6a
3
2
|Z| / Ω cm

and b, while the EDX profile for the surface shown in Fig. 6b is
2 depicted in Fig. 6c. The SEM micrograph, Fig. 5a, indicates that the
1 surface of steel is totally corroded as a result of the aggressiveness
attack of the sulfuric acid solution. The EDX analysis, Fig. 5b, shows
that the surface has the main elements of the high strength marag-
1
ing steel in addition to carbon, sulfur and oxygen. The exact atomic
percentages for the elements found on the steel surface recorded
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 15.60% C, 36.28% O, 8.78% S, 29.95% Fe, 7.75% Ni, and 1.56% Cr. The
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
presence of C, O, and S on the surface was due to the effect of sulfuric
Frequency / Hz acid solutions.
The SEM images shown in Fig. 6a and b confirm that the surface
Fig. 3. EIS (a) Nyquist and (b) Bode impedance plots obtained for high strength
maraging steel after 180 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) of the steel is completely different from the SEM image shown in
0.0 M APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively. Fig. 5a, where the surface in Fig. 6 is fully covered with an adsorbed
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E.-S.M. Sherif / Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196 193

Table 1
EIS parameters obtained by fitting the Nyquist plots shown in Fig. 1a, Fig. 2a and Fig. 3a with the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 4 for the maraging steel in 2 M sulfuric acid
pickling solutions.

Solution Parameter

RS ( cm2 ) Q RP1 ( cm2 ) RP2 ( cm2 ) L/H IE%

−2
YQ (F cm ) N

1.0 M H2 SO4 (0 min) 0.889 0.00214 0.80 10.34 4.011 15.64 –

+1 × 10−3 M APTA (0 min) 0.938 0.000987 0.87 15.14 10.92 17.24 31.7
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (0 min) 1.122 0.000787 0.83 32.89 36.33 20.20 68.56
1.0 M H2 SO4 (90 min) 0.811 0.00627 0.81 5.44 16.95 3.381 –
+1 × 10−3 M APTA (90 min) 0.874 0.00325 0.80 10.812 6.585 2.068 49.69
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (90 min) 1.246 0.00171 0.82 16.3 16.01 6.688 66.63
1.0 M H2 SO4 (180 min) 0.781 0.00944 0.85 2.64 7.45 1.486 –
+1 × 10−3 M APTA (180 min) 0.907 0.00361 0.83 5.82 7.945 3.021 54.64
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (180 min) 1.164 0.00322 0.84 9.39 8.896 4.090 71.88

Table 2
Corrosion parameters obtained from the potentiodynamic polarization curves shown in Fig. 7, Fig. 8, and Fig. 9 for maraging steel electrode that has been immersed for
different exposure 2.0 M H2 SO4 .

Medium Parameter

ˇc ECorr jCorr ˇa Rp RCorr IE

−1 −2 −1 −1
mV dec mV ␮A cm mV dec  cm 2
mm yr %

1.0 M H2 SO4 (0 min) −103 −310 1500 90 0.207 137.08 –

+1 × 10−3 M APTA (0 min) −115 −278 1000 100 0.334 91.39 33.34
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (0 min) −120 −270 570 105 0.641 52.09 62.00
1.0 M H2 SO4 (90 min) −105 −300 4800 80 0.030 438.66 –
+1 × 10−3 M APTA (90 min) −115 −275 3100 92 0.064 283.30 35.42
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (90 min) −125 −264 1350 100 0.181 109.66 70.00
1.0 M H2 SO4 (180 min) −108 −280 7600 70 0.011 694.54 –
+1 × 10−3 M APTA (180 min) −118 −269 3500 82 0.033 319.85 53.95
+5 × 10−3 M APTA (180 min) −122 −260 2000 90 0.068 201.05 73.68

layer. The atomic percentages of the elements found on surface

shown in Fig. 6b and represented by the EDX profile shown in
Fig. 6c were 48.53% C, 21.03% Fe, 13.58% N, 10.62% O and 4.07% Ni.
The presence of such high nitrogen percentage confirms that the
APTA molecules are included in the layer present on the steel sur-
face. The small detected amounts of Fe, Ni and O also indicate that
APTA layer is thick and homogenously distributed on the surface.
This proves that the presence of APTA molecules within the sulfuric
acid pickling solution inhibits the corrosion of the HIGH STRENGTH
maraging steel as a result of the adsorption of its molecules onto
the surface protecting it from being attacked.

3.3. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements

In order to report the effect of immersion time and APTA con-

centration on the corrosion and corrosion mitigation of the high
strength maraging steel, we carried out potentiodynamic polariza-
tion experiments. Fig. 7 shows the potentiodynamic polarization
curves for high strength maraging steel after 0.0 min immersion
in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M APTA, (2) 1 × 10−3 M
APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively. It is well known that
the corrosion of steel alloys in aggressive acidic solutions takes
place via the anodic dissolution of iron metal (Fe) to ferrous cations
(Fe2+ ) [11];

Fe = Fe2+ + 2e– (1)

Reaction (1) gets activated through the consumption of the pro-

duced electrons by the cathodic reaction at the cathodic sites on
the steel surface and lead to hydrogen evolution as follows;

Fig. 5. (a) SEM micrograph obtained for the maraging steel surface after its immer- 2H+ + 2e– = H2 (2)
sion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 for 90 min; and (b) the corresponding EDX profile analysis.
The occurrence of these reactions leads to the rapid increase of
current with any increase of potential as seen from the polarization
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194 E.-S.M. Sherif / Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196

Fig. 6. SEM micrographs (a) and (b) that were obtained at different magnifications for the maraging steel surface after its immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 + 1 × 10−3 M APTA for
90 min; and (c) the corresponding EDX profile analysis for the SEM image (b).

100 Fig. 7 and Table 2 indicate that the highest values of jCorr and
RCorr and lowest value of Rp were recorded for the high strength
0 maraging steel in sulfuric acid alone due to the sever attack of the
acid. On the other hand, the presence of APTA and the increase of
-100
its concentration decrease the values of jCorr and RCorr and increases
E / mV (Ag/AgCl)

-200 Rp. This is due to the ability of APTA molecules in precluding the
3 corrosion of steel via their adsorption onto the steel surface. The
-300 2 adsorption of APTA leads to the formation of a protective layer that
1 blocks the active sites and leads in turn to decreasing the dissolution
-400 reaction of steel. This effect increases with the increase of APTA
concentration as confirmed by the increased values of IE%.
-500
In order to study the effect of elongating the immersion time on
-600 the corrosion and corrosion mitigation of high strength maraging
steel in 2.0 M H2 SO4 in absence and presence of APTA molecules,
-700 the polarization curves were performed after 90 min and 180 min
-2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 and the curves are shown in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively. The corro-
-2
j / mA cm sion parameters and IE% were also calculated and listed in Table 2.
It is absolutely seen from Figs. 8 and 9 and Table 2 that elongat-
Fig. 7. Potentiodynamic polarization curves for high strength maraging steel ing the time of exposure from 0.0 to 90 min and further to 180 min
after 0.0 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M APTA, (2) increases the corrosion of the steel in sulfuric acid that had no APTA
1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively. molecules through increasing the values of anodic and cathodic
currents, jCorr and RCorr and decreasing the values of Rp. This is per-
haps due to the increased corrosiveness attack of the sulfuric acid
curves shown in Fig. 7, particularly in the absence of APTA towards the steel, which makes its surface always fresh and active
molecules (curve 1). The corrosion potential (ECorr ), corrosion cur- and thus corrodes easily and rapidly. The presence of APTA corro-
rent density (jCorr ), cathodic (ˇc) and anodic (ˇa) Tafel slopes, sion inhibitor with the acid certainly eliminates the effect of long
polarization resistance (Rp), and corrosion rate (RCorr ) that were immersion time by decreasing the values of anodic and cathodic
obtained from polarization curves are listed in Table 2. In addition, currents, jCorr and RCorr and increasing the values of Rp. This effect
the percentage of the inhibition efficiency (IE%) obtained for the was found to increase with increasing the concentration of APTA in
APTA different concentrations were also calculated from polariza- the solution. In fact, increasing the immersion time was in the favor
tion data and listed in Table 2. The values of these parameters were of increasing the efficiency of APTA as a corrosion inhibitor. This is
obtained as previously reported [11,28]. because the value of IE% recorded increased values with elongating
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E.-S.M. Sherif / Applied Surface Science 292 (2014) 190–196 195

100 and corrosion currents and corrosion rate, shifting the corrosion
potential, ECorr , towards the less negative values and increasing
0 the surface and polarization resistances. This effect was further
increased by adding 5 × 10−3 M APTA, which could minimize all
-100
E / mV (Ag/AgCl)

corrosion parameters. SEM/EDX investigations proved that APTA

-200 molecules inhibit the corrosion of steel via their adsorption onto
3 the surface. All results were in good agreement and stated clearly
-300
2
1 that APTA is a good corrosion inhibitor for high strength marag-
ing steel in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions and its ability increases with the
-400 increase of its concentration and elongating the immersion time.
-500
Acknowledgments
-600 3 2 1
The author extends its appreciation to theDeanship of Scientific
-700 Research at KSU for funding the work through the research group
-2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10
project no. RGP-VPP-160.
-2
j / mA cm
References
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[4] R.F. Decker, J.T. Eash, A.J. Goldman, 18% Nickel maraging steel, ASM Trans. Quart.
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[5] E.M. Sherif, S.-M. Park, Inhibition of copper corrosion in acidic pickling solutions
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[6] M. Lagrenee, B. Mernari, M. Bouanis, M. Traisnel, F. Bentiss, Study of the
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-400 [7] S.N. Banerjee, S. Misra, 1,10,-Phenanthroline as corrosion inhibitor for mild
steel in sulfuric acid solution, Corrosion 45 (1989) 780–783.
-500 1 [8] E.-S.M. Sherif, R.M. Erasmus, J.D. Comins, Effects of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole on
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-600
3 face Sci. 311 (2007) 144–151.
-700
-1 0 1
10 10 10
-2
j / mA cm
Fig. 9. Potentiodynamic polarization curves for high strength maraging steel
after 180 min immersion in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions containing (1) 0.0 M APTA, (2)
1 × 10−3 M APTA, and (3) 5 × 10−3 M APTA, respectively.
the exposure period for the steel before measurement. Polarization
data thus agree with the EIS measurements both confirmed that
increasing the immersion time before measurement remarkably
increases the corrosion of steel in sulfuric acid solution alone; also,
the presence and the increase of APTA concentration largely inhibit
the corrosion of steel and that effect increases with increasing the
time of immersion.
4. Conclusions
Corrosion and corrosion mitigation of high strength maraging
steel in 2.0 M H2 SO4 solutions by APTA were carried out using
EIS, SEM/EDX and polarization techniques. The study reported the
effect of exposure time from 0.0 to 90 and further to 180 min before
measurement as well as the concentration of APTA on the corro-
sion and corrosion inhibition of the steel in the acid solution. It has
been found that the steel under investigation suffers uniform cor-
rosion and the severity of this corrosion increases with increasing
the immersion time as indicated by increasing the values of jCorr
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