Cefixime was investigated as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in an hydrochloric acid solution. The results revealed that the order of reaction is 0.427, with activation energy found to be 41.7 kJ/mol. Cefixime was effective in increasing the inhibition efficiency for all inhibition concentrations. The corrosion rate profile was found to be secondorder kinetics with respect to corrosion activity.Keywords: mild steel; hydrochloric acid; corrosion; cefixime; kinetics.
IntroductionCorrosion of metals is a major problem for the application of metals in many services. Acid solutions and, more specifically, hydrochloric acid, are used for the removal of rust and scale in industrial processes [1]. The contact between these acid solutions and metals used in industrial processes causes metal dissolution and corrosion. Corrosion causes plant shutdowns, waste of valuable resources, loss or contamination of product, reduction in efficiency, costly maintenance and expensive overdesign [2]. Because iron and steel are the backbone of industrial constructions, many attempts have been made to find methods of reducing the corrosion and wear costs of these metals. One of the most important methods in the corrosion protection of these metals is using inhibitors. Corrosion inhibitor is a chemical substance that is effective when added to a corrosive environment in very small amounts, to decrease the corrosion rate of the exposed metallic material [3]. Heterocyclic compounds containing both nitrogen and sulfur are of particular importance, as they often provide excellent inhibition [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Both synthetic and naturally-occurring materials have been proposed as potential inhibitors for metal corrosion [11][12][13]. Several methods have been proposed to evaluate the inhibition efficiency. The most widely used method is based on comparing the relative rate of corrosion under inhibition with and without inhibition. The calculated rates of corrosion