Effect of pulegone and pulegone oxide on the corrosion of steel in 1 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> HCl

The inhibitive action of pulegone and pulegone oxide toward acid corrosion of steel in molar hydrochloric acid was studied by weight loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarization, and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The pulegone is extracted starting from oil of Pennyroyal Mint (Mentha pulegium). The natural compound was found to delay the corrosion rate. The pulegone oxide is prepared by oxidation of pulegone. The inhibition efficiency was found to increase with the inhibitor content to attain 81 and 75% at 5 g dm⁻³ for pulegone and pulegone oxide. The increase in temperature leads to an increase in the inhibition efficiency of the natural compared. Correspondence: Belkheir Hammouti, Laboratoire de chimie Appliquée & Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, B.P. 717, 60000 Oujda, Morocco.