Contribution to the “Filming Amine” Theory: An Interpretation of Experimental Results

Corrosion inhibitors find application in a great variety of industrial processes, such as pickling operations, petroleum processing, the chemical industry in general and many more. One prominent class of inhibitors is organic amines, predominantly used in acid environments. Their action has been exhaustively investigated and it is generally felt among authorities in the field that amines become absorbed on the metal surface and thereby reduce either the cathodic, or anodic reaction rates, or both. Whether this inhibition is the result of a mere physical blocking effect or a long range energetic interaction with the active sites adjacent to the site of absorption is a point of discussion.