Corrosion Inhibition of Copper and Its Alloys Using Benzotriazole

THIS paper investigates the effect of benzotriazole (BTAH) on the corrosion of copper and two of its alloys namely; Cu-10Ni and Cu-37Zn brass alloys in 3.5 % NaCl solution. Potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were used in this investigation. Surface morphology was examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At lower concentration of BTAH (0.001 M) copper and brass showed slightly better behavior than CuNi while at high concentration (≥ 0.005 M) the Cu-10Ni alloy showed excellent inhibition efficiency compared to copper and brass. EIS showed that the polarization resistance, Rp, and hence the corrosion resistance is increased with the addition of BTAH. Results are supported by surface investigations.