Imidazolium based ionic liquids as green corrosion inhibitors against corrosion of mild steel in acidic media

Abstract

Ionic liquids are compounds that consist entirely of ions. Since the last decade, ionic liquids have evolved as effective corrosion inhibitors. Ionic liquids are extensively used as potent corrosion inhibitors against metals and alloys because of their high solubility, low toxicity, low melting point, high polarity, and very high stability to thermal and chemical processes. This review would focus on the excellent inhibition properties of imidazolium-based ionic liquids, as well as the different factors that affect the inhibition efficacy of these compounds, such as the effect of chain length, molecular surface area, and position of substituents attached to the imidazolium ring, and so on. This article discusses the recently analyzed imidazolium-based ionic liquids and their inhibition mechanisms as studied by employing several techniques such as Potentiodynamic polarization, Weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Density functional theory (DFT) studies, Molecular dynamics simulations and so on.