Surface Analysis of 4-Methyl-2-Phenylimidazole Corrosion Inhibitor on Brass

摘要

This work presents the first corrosion analysis of 4-methyl-2-phenylimidazole (MePhI) corrosion inhibitor for brass immersed in 3 wt.% NaCl solution, wherein MePhl was shown to be highly effective. Moreover, the structure of the surface layer, the formation of an organo-metallic complex, the spatial distribution of MePhI, and the thermal stability of the MePhI surface layer were described in detail using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, a gas cluster ion beam source using different sizes and accelerating energies of the clusters was also employed to slowly sputter the organic surface layer associated with the surface layer analysis.