Corrosion inhibitors are one of the preventative techniques used to prevent chloride-induced
corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Several commercial inhibitors are available on the market,
but their efficiency as well as their inhibitive mechanism are not well understood. In this paper the
inhibiting behaviour of five organic substances in delaying chloride-induced corrosion was evaluated in
alkaline solution using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic tests. The studied
substances were sodium tartrate, sodium benzoate, sodium glutamate, dimethylethanolamine (DMEA)
and triethylenetetramine (TETA). The best results were obtained with tartrate and benzoate. To establish
the interaction between inhibitors and passive film, theoretical calculations based on molecular
mechanics and molecular dynamics were used, as well as Langmuir-Freundlich and Temkin adsorption
isotherms were established from the experimental results. The theoretical results showed the presence of
a favourable interaction energy with the surface of the adsorbed molecules, with repulsive
intermolecular interactions, mainly among the anions. The adsorption isotherms confirmed both the
presence of a strong physisorption between the inhibitors and the substrate, and of repulsive interactions
between the molecules of inhibitors, leading to the formation of a non-homogenous monolayer, i.e. a
layer of inhibitor molecules scattered across the surface.
Keywords: organic inhibitors; mechanism; EIS; molecular mechanics; molecular dynamics;
adsorption isotherms; chloride-induced corrosion.