Abstract
In the present study, it
was examined the inhibition performance of Thionine, which has metachromatic
properties and is generally used as a vital dye for different staining of
nucleus and cytoplasm, on mild steel in acidic medium as a different application
area which is not existed in the literature. In order to understand how
Thionine interacts with the mild steel surface, different types of adsorption
isotherms were plotted and it was seen obeyed the Langmuir isotherm. The
test results revealed that as the inhibitor concentration increased at each
temperature, the corrosion current density (icorr)
values diminished and accordingly, the inhibition efficiencies (η%)
increased slightly. The results indicated that the Thionine molecules continued
to be adsorbed onto the metal surface to some extent, even when elevated to
high temperatures. Thermodynamic adsorption parameters revealed a strong and
chemical interaction between Thionine and mild steel. It was determined that
the Thionine acted as a mixed-type inhibitor on the mild steel surface.
Finally, field emission scanning electron (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy
(AFM) analyses were performed to determine the surface characteristics.