The role of tartrate ions in the phosphonate based inhibitor system

Corrosion of steel in oxygen saturated environment is inhibited by insolubl e products, with the metals ions existing in the solution, which precipitat e on the surface to form a three-dimensional protective layer. Addition of tartrate with organophosphonic acid (2-carboxyethylphosphonic acid) and zin c metal cation enhances the inhibition efficiency of steel in neutral envir onment. Using weight change method, polarization and AC impedance technique s determined the inhibition efficiencies. The composition of the protective layer was determined by using UV-VIS reflectance, UV-VIS luminescence and ESCA techniques. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.