Study of the inhibition of the corrosion of copper and zinc in HNO3 solution by electrochemical technique and quantum chemical calculations

The corrosion inhibition of copper and zinc in 0.1 M HNO₃ by 1,2,3,4-tetrazole (TTZ) and some of its derivatives has been analysed in a comparative study. Two experimental techniques have been used such as weight-loss and electrochemical polarization measurements. The results obtained reveal that the addition of these compounds reduces preferentially the corrosion of Cu rather than that of Zn. The adsorption of tetrazolic compounds on a copper surface was more favourable than their adsorption on a zinc surface. Moreover the inhibition efficiency calculated for copper was found to attain 95% in the presence of 1-phenyl-5-mercapto-1,2,3,4-tetrazole (PMT) while it remains constant at 1% for all compounds tested using zinc as electrode. Relationship between molecular structure and their inhibition efficiency was elucidated by quantum chemical calculations using the density functional theory (DFT).