The effect of Na 3 PO 4 and the mixture of benzotriazole (BTA) and Na 3 PO 4 (SP) on the corrosion of copper in 17 wt% (0.534 mol/L) tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) aerated aqueous solution has been investigated by means of weight-loss test, potentiodynamic polarization test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray techniques. The experimental results showed that a dosage of Na 3 PO 4 stimulated the copper corrosion, and the corrosion rate increased with increasing Na 3 PO 4 concentration, whereas the mixture of BTA and Na 3 PO 4 could protect copper in aqueous TBAB solution. The inhibition action of the mixture of BTA and Na 3 PO 4 on the corrosion of copper is mainly due to the inhibition of the anodic process of corrosion. The inhibition efficiency of a mixture consisting of 2 g/L BTA and 1 g/L Na 3 PO 4 was about 96%. The mixture of BTA and Na 3 PO 4 inhibits the corrosion of copper better than BTA by itself, indicating that Na 3 PO 4 has a synergistic role with BTA on the corrosion inhibition of copper in TBAB aqueous solution.

The corrosion inhibition behavior of benzotriazole (BTA) on copper in 17 wt% tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) aerated aqueous solution was investigated by weight-loss tests, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy/ energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. BTA is a good inhibitor in 17 wt% TBAB solution. The inhibition efficiency of BTA increases with increasing inhibitor concentration, attaining efficiencies of up to 90% calculated according to different methodologies. Adsorption of BTA in 17 wt% TBAB solution on the copper surface was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

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