Electrochemical and Molecular Dynamics Evaluation on Inhibition Performance of 2-(1-Methyl-Nonyl)-Quinoline

A novel vapor phase inhibitor, 2-(1-methyl-nonyl)-quinoline, was designed to cope with top-of-line corrosion (TLC) in wet gas pipelines and characterized via electrochemical measurements, scanning vibrating electrode technique (SEVT), surface analysis techniques, and molecular dynamics methods. 2-(1-methyl-nonyl)-quinoline showed parallel adsorption and was predominantly a cathodic-type inhibitor. The inhibition efficiency increased with temperature (30–50°C) and pH (4.15–5.76), and reached 97.25% at a concentration of 0.0282 mol/L. The SEVT showed that the average current density of the X80 steel specimen without inhibitor (anode region, 6.58087 µA/cm²) was about 2.5 times that of the other with inhibitor (cathode region, ?2.61974 µA/cm²).