The
corrosion inhibition efficiencies of three novel naphthyridines
namely, 5-amino-9-hydroxy-2-phenylchromeno[4,3,2-de][1,6]naphthyridine-4-carbonitrile (N-1), 5-amino-9-hydroxy-2-(p-tolyl)chromeno[4,3,2-de][1,6]naphthyridine-4-carbonitrile
(N-2), and 5-amino-9-hydroxy-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)chromeno[4,3,2-de][1,6]naphthyridine-4-carbonitrile (N-3) have been investigated
for mild steel in 1 M HCl solution by using weight loss, electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization methods.
All three compounds show high inhibition activities at 6.54 ×
10–5 M : N-1, 94.28%; N-2, 96.66%; and N-3, 98.09%.
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis reveals an increase
in polarization resistance due to the adsorbed inhibitor molecules
on metal surface. Potentiodynamic polarization analysis reveals that
all three compounds act as mixed-type inhibitors but of predominantly
cathodic type. The adsorption of the studied compounds on mild steel
surface follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Surface morphology
examined by using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy
analysis shows a smoother surface for mild steel in the presence of
naphthyridines in acidic solution. Quantum chemical parameters correlate
well with the experimental results, which support higher inhibition
efficiencies of N-3 and N-2 due to the electron-donating effects of
−OCH3 and −CH3 substituents, respectively,
than of N-1, which is devoid of substituents. The magnitudes of the
adsorption energies obtained from Monte Carlo simulations also agree
with the trend of the experimental inhibition efficiency.