The Corrosion Inhibition of AA6082 Aluminium Alloy by Certain Azoles in Chloride Solution: Electrochemistry and Surface Analysis

The corrosion inhibition effect of five azole compounds on the corrosion of an AA6082 aluminium alloy in 5 wt.% NaCl solution at 25 and 50 °C was investigated using weight loss and electrochemical measurements. Only 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) showed a corrosion inhibition effect at both temperatures and was further studied in detail, including with the addition of potassium iodide as a possible intensifier. Surface analysis of the MBT surface layer was performed by means of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques. The hydrophobicity of the MBT surface layer was also investigated.