“…The efficiency of these substances is related to the formation of an insoluble, hydrophobic, thick polymeric film, which lacks the original C≡C triple bond [6][7][8]. The mechanism of film formation, studied in detail in the case of ethynylcyclohexanol [9], 1-octyn-3-ol [10][11][12], 3-phenyl-2-propyn-1-ol [13], propargyl alcohol [14][15][16] generally involves the following consecutive steps: (i) inhibitor chemisorption onto the metal surface through π electrons of the triple bond, (ii) triple bond hydrogenation by atomic hydrogen evolving during the cathodic process, (iii) dehydration (of the alcoholic function), with consequent reactive diene formation and, finally, (iv) polymerisation, reticulation. Detailed studies of chemisorption of alkynols using electrochemical and ellipsometric techniques [17][18][19][20] have established that the octynol molecule lies flat at low additive concentrations and short immersion times, or perpendicular at high concentrations and long contact times.…”