EDTA as a corrosion inhibitor for Al in 0.5 M HCl: doi:10.5599/jese.300 235 J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251; doi: 10.5599/jese.300 Open Access : : ISSN 1847-9286 www.jESE-online.org Original scientific paper EDTA as a corrosion inhibitor for Al in 0.5 M HCl: adsorption, thermodynamic and theoretical study Rehab E. Azooz Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, 2097 Jazan, Saudi Arabia Corresponding Author: re_azooz@yahoo.com; Tel.: +9966532324115 Received: May 21, 2016; Revised: June 18, 2016; Accepted: July 4, 2016 Abstract In this study; EDTA is used in very small amount (10-10 M) as an inhibitor for the Al corrosion in 0.5 M HCl. Thermodynamic and adsorption parameters are calculated. The result shows that, in this range of concentrations, EDTA is chemisorbed at the Al surface, forming a stable complex with Al and give inhibition efficiency up to 89 %. For more con- centration, unstable complex is formed and acceleration of corrosion occurs. The adsorp- tion fit well to Langmuir, Temkin isotherms and El-awady model. Density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the geometrical optimizations of EDTA. From the obtained optimized structure, The highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO and their energy difference (ΔE), the total energy (TE), electronegativity (χ), dipole moment (µ), global hardness (η), global softness (σ), electron affinity (A), ionization potential (I), the fraction of electrons transferred (∆N) and were determined using B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set. Keywords EDTA; Inhibition efficiency; Adsorption isotherms; Thermodynamic parameters; Theoretical parameters Introduction The study of Al corrosion is of great importance; various industrial operations depend mainly on Al. Most investigations on the corrosion of Al have been carried out on. The development of corrosion inhibitor is a good branch based on a functional organic compound. The structure and function groups of used organic compounds are useful for obtaining a good inhibitors [1-4]. Depending upon excellent conductivity (electrically and thermally) of Al; application of Al is varied and widespread. [5]. Adsorption of inhibitor on the charged metal surface is the main process to inhibit corrosion, on this basis; multiple bond(s), an electron rich atom as, S, N or P or a ring is a http://www.jese-online.org/ mailto:re_azooz@yahoo.com J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 236 main centers for the adsorption processes. In aqueous media, inhibitors are used to prevent or reduce the corrosion of metals [6–11]. It was shown that, compounds containing N or/and O atoms exhibit a good inhibiting effect. A polyprotic acid, i.e. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), with a lone pair of electrons in its amino groups and two carboxylic acid groups is used for complexation with the charged metal ions [6,12]. Complexation occur between (free or π) -electrons from inhibitor and the vacant d-orbital of a metal through the formation of donor–acceptor surface [6,14-16]. In the last years, EDTA has been studied to protect metals from corrosion in different environments [16–19], it was found that, different parameter affects the inhibition effect of EDTA including, the pH value, temperature, concentration, and type of the metal. Nahle [20] has found that the Sn(II)–EDTA complex increased the dissolution rate of Sn in a basic medium. Milošev et al. [16] have investigated the corrosion of stainless steel in physiological solutions, while, EDTA prevents the formation of a passive layer and increases the solubility of the metal. Gadiyar et al. [22] have discovered that EDTA inhibits the corrosion of carbon steel. However, its inhibiting effect is imperfect. Alhaji and Reda [23] have stated that EDTA is effective in decreasing the corrosion rate of copper-nickel alloy in seawater contaminated with sulfur. S. Zor et. al. [24] observe that, the corrosion of Al is higher in 0.1 M NaCl solution in higher concentration of EDTA, and become slower at 10-4M EDTA The molecular structure, electronic structure and reactivity of Inhibitors are determined well by quantum chemical methods [25]. A powerful framework is provided by DFT [25,26] that help in understanding a lot of chemical processes [27-31]. Concepts as, electronegativity hardness or softness etc. are used to describe chemical reactivity [28], are appear naturally within DFT. The local electron density/population displacements represented the inflow of a single electron is measured using Fukui function [30] and is representing the relative local softness of the electron gas. In the present study the inhibition effect of EDTA for the corrosion of Al in 0.5 M HCl has been done using both weight loss and electrochemical methods. The temperature effect and adsorption isotherms will be studied in details. Also analyzing the inhibitive properties of EDTA using DFT calculations will be done. Experimental Chemical and reagents Al strips have a rectangular form (4.5×3.5×0.2 cm), with the composition 99.11 % of Al, 0.019 % of Zn, 0.036 % of Cu, 0.001 % of Mg, 0.834 % of Si and, were mechanically polished using different grades of emery sheets, washed with acetone and distilled water and dried. EDTA disodium salt (Analar grade) and HCl were obtained from Fluka AG, Switzerland. All solutions were prepared using freshly prepared bidistilled water. Stock solution of EDTA was prepared, from which all used concentrations are prepared via dilution. Methods Weight loss measurements The Al samples (coupons) were weighed before immersion in 250 ml beaker containing 50 ml of the respective prepared test solutions at room temperature and desired temperatures. The setups were exposed for a period of 100 min. Corrosion reaction is quenched in concentrated HNO3 R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 237 digressed in CH3COCH3 washed under water, dried and weighed. A mean value triplicate experi- ments is reported in each case. The values of weight loss in the presence and the absence of EDTA is used to calculate efficiency at the end of definite intervals of time. Temperatures effects The same procedure adopted where the temperature of the study was varied, in the range (303- 333 K), from at the end of each experiment. The specimens were taken out, washed both in running tap water and into distilled water. They were dried and their weights were recorded. The loss in weight was calculated. Each experiment was duplicated to get good reproducibility. Weight loss measurement was performed in 0.5 M HCl with and without the addition of EDTA in the range (6.4 – 10.07)×10-10 M. Electrochemical methods All electrochemical experiments were recorded using a potentiostate/galvanostate (EG&G 326A, U.S.A). The potential was scanned at the scan rate 10 mV s-1. All experiments were repeated to ensure reproducibility. Fresh solution was used for each experiment. The cell used is a three compartment home-made one, with a reference saturated calomel electrode (SCE), an auxiliary (Pt- foil) electrode and a working (Al) electrode with 0.4 cm2 area exposed to corroded solution was used. Adsorption isotherms The adsorption of inhibitor at a metal /solution interface is the main source of inhibition effect, accordingly, the isotherms of adsorption can be determined. In order to obtain the isotherm the fractional surface coverage values () as a function of inhibitor concentration must be obtained. The values of  can be easily determined from the weight loss measurements by the ratio; . . 100 I E   where IE is inhibition efficiency obtained by a weight loss method. So, it is necessary to determine empirically which isotherm fits best to the adsorption of inhibitor on the Al surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) After a period of 100 min, Al coupons was removed from solution, rinsed with a double distilled water, dried and observed in a Scanning Electron Microscope (JSM-T20 Electron Probe Micro- analyzer (JEOL, Tokyo, Japan)) to examine the surface morphology. The following cases were examined, to understand the morphology of the Al surface in the absence and presence of inhibitors, (i) aluminum coupon after polishing, (ii) aluminum coupon dipped in 0.5 M HCl for 100 min. at 303 K and (iii) aluminum coupon dipped in 0.5 M HCl containing 2.7×10-10 M of EDTA inhibitor 100 min Quantum chemical calculations DFT is used to obtain the complete geometrical optimizations of EDTA, with Beck’s exchange functional along with nonlocal correlation functional (B3LYP) of Lee–Yang–Parr [32–34] with 6-31G* basis set in Gaussian 03 program package [35]. From the obtained optimized structure, serval quantum chemical parameters were calculated; EHOMO, ELUMO, ΔEgap, the dipole μ and TE. J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 238 Results and discussion The molecular structure of an organic compound used in the present study is given in Scheme 1. Scheme 1. Structure of EDTA Open circuit potential Potential-time curves was recorded for 60 minutes of immersion of the Al specimens in aqueous 0.5 M HCl solution without and with EDTA at required concentrations. As seen in Figure 1. From Figure 1, when Al is immersed in the HCl solution EOCP drop sharply, then began to increase to more positive value and reached a stationary value after 25 minutes of immersion. The aggressiveness of the corroded solution may cause the differences in EOCP values at the beginning of Al exposure, It was suggested that, adsorption of EDTA molecules on the Al surface is the reason for the initial negative shift. Time, min Figure 1.Potential - time curves for Al in 0.5 M HCl in absence and presence of different concentrations of (EDTA) at 303 K. The results have shown that the addition of EDTA molecules at the beginning shifts EOCP to more negative values. And then become more positive with time, due to oxide film growth [36]. In particular, initial values are more negative than steady state values, also the dependence of the EOCP on concentration suggests that, the inhibitor molecules are strong and rapidly adsorbed at the steady state potentials [36]. Potentiodynamic polarization studies The cathodic and anodic polarization curves of Al in 0.5 M HCl in the absence and presence of different EDTA concentrations at 303 K are shown in Fig. 2. The electrochemical kinetic parameters E / V v s. S C E R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 239 (in the potential range ±50 mV from Ecorr), namely, corrosion current (icorr), corrosion potential (Ecorr), and Tafel slopes, (c and a), have been determined simultaneously and are listed in Table 1. Data infer that, the addition of EDTA to the acid solutions increases both the anodic and cathodic overpotentials, decreases the corrosion current density, icorr, and shifts the Ecorr to more positive values. This means that the presence of EDTA inhibits the partial anodic dissolution of Al and also retards the partial cathodic reduction of hydrogen ion. E / V vs. SCE Figure 2. Potentiodynamic polarization curves for Al in 0.5M HCl at 303 K with scan rate of 10 mV s-1 with and without different concentrations of EDTA. These results reveal that EDTA acts as a mixed type inhibitor. The inhibition efficiency IE, at different inhibitor concentrations at 303 K for Al electrode in 0.5 M HCl solution was calculated from the Equation 1 [37-39]: 0 / % 1 100corr corr i IE i         (1) where, i°corr and icorr are corrosion current density for uninhibited and inhibited solutions respect- tively. Table 1. The electrochemical kinetic parameters (icorr, Ecorr, c and a) and inhibition efficiency (IE) obtained from polarization curves of Al electrode in 0.5M HCl at 303 K in the absence and the presence of EDTA. cEDTA / M icorr / mA cm -2 -Ecorr / mV -c / mV dec -1 -a/ mV dec -1 IE / % Blank 0.89 670 122 0.69 -- 1.07 10-10 0.47 660 118 0.60 47.2 2.13 10-10 0.46 650 116 0.53 48.3 3.20 10-10 0.35 630 118 0.52 60.7 4.27 10-10 0.21 580 112 0.51 76.4 5.33 10-10 0.12 530 115 0.50 86.5 6.40 10-10 0.10 500 114 0.50 88.8 Mass loss The mass losses of Al in 0.5 M HCl solution, with and without different concentrations of the EDTA were recorded after 100 min. of immersion at different temperatures. The corrosion rates of Al alloy were calculated using Equation 2 [37]. 87.6 m CR Atd   (2) lo g ( j / m A c m -2 ) J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 240 where Δm is the mass lost (g), 87.6 is a constant, A is the surface area of the coupon (cm2), d is the density (g cm-3), t is the time of exposure (h). The calculated CR fits into the range (less than 0.50 mm year-1) at which the application is acceptable [39]. Figure 3 (A and B) shows the variation in mass loss for Al coupons in the absence and the presence of EDTA. The mass loss in the presence of inhibitor is much smaller than the blank solution. The significant difference shows reduce impact on the CR of Al in 0.5 M HCl. Both of the surface coverage () and the inhibition efficiency (IE) were calculated using mass loss data according to Equations 3 and 4, respectively [38]. 1 inh blamk w w         (3) IE / % =  × 100 (4) where, wblank is the corrosion rate in the uninhibited environments. winh is the corrosion in the inhibited environment. The high inhibition efficiency as the inhibitor concentration increases could be understood to be due to the reduction in corrosion rate. Thus, EDTA could be considered as an inhibitor of Al in 0. 5 M HCl solution given the high level of inhibition efficiency. The inhibitor efficiency, increased with the inhibitor concentration. c / 10-10 M T / K Figure 3. Mass loss of Al immersed for 100 min. in 50ml HCl in the presence or absence of EDTA at different temperatures and EDTA concentrations. Figure 4 shows the inhibition efficiency in different concentration of the EDTA and it is seen that the IE increases linearly with the inhibitor concentration. Figure 4. IE after 100 min. in 50 ml HCl at different [EDTA] at different temperatures 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 2E-10 4E-10 6E-10 8E-10 IE / % [EDTA] / M 303 K 313 K 323 K 333 K W ig h t lo ss , m g c m -2 W ig h t lo ss , m g c m -2 R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 241 Adsorption studies Inhibition efficiencies of Al in 0.5 M HCl was increase with increasing additive concentrations of EDTA, this phenomenon can be explained on the basis of adsorption. Adsorption of the inhibitor can explain the nature of Al/EDTA interaction. In the acid solution, firstly inhibitor is adsorbed on the metal surface and cover certain area from corroded solution and decrease or prevent this area from dissolution, whereas corrosion reactions normally occurred on inhibitor-free areas. Accordingly, the area covered with inhibitor species (), can follow as a function of inhibitor concentration and/or solution temperature. When  is tested as a function of the concentration (at constant temperature), the adsorption isotherm can be evaluated at the equilibrium condition. Four adsorption isotherms were tested using data from both weight loss and electrochemical techniques; A. Langmuir’s isotherm The dependence of  at the concentration of the inhibitor, was fitted to Langmuir’s isotherm, assuming that, a fixed number of adsorption sites is present on Al surface, each one of these sites holds only one adsorbed species. Figure 5 shows linear plots of c/ versus c with R2 ≥ 0.90, the average correlation coefficient, which suggests that adsorption was fitted to Langmuir’s isotherm as in Equation 5 [37]. ads 1c c K   (5) where c is inhibitor concentration, Kads adsorptive equilibrium constant representing the degree of adsorption (i.e. if Kads having higher value, the inhibitor is strongly adsorbed on metal surfaces). As shown in Table 2, the value of Kads which was obtained from the reciprocal of the intercept of a Langmuir plot lines, and R2 of all lines were near unity. This means that obtained results is fit well with Langmuir isotherm. The higher values of Kads indicating a strong interaction between EDTA and the Al surface. It seemed, therefore, that electrostatic interaction (physisorption) between inhibitor molecules existing as cations should prevail over molecular interaction, and this often results in strong interactions (chemisorption). Table 2. Data obtained from Figure 3 Temperature, K 303 313 323 333 Technique used* Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. R2 0.99 0.93 0.99 0.96 0.98 0.97 0.98 0.97 ΔGoads, kJ mol-1 -66.38 -66.38 -67.25 -70.95 -70.78 -70.76 -71.83 -75.16 * Wt.-loss - Weight loss measurements; Elec. - Electrochemical methods c / 10-10 M c / 10-10 M Figure 5. Plots of c/ versus c of Langmuir’s adsorption isotherm for the corrosion of Al in 0.5 M HCl at different temperatures. A: From weight loss technique and B: from electrochemical technique (c / / M (c / / M J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 242 The Equilibrium constant of adsorption Kads is related to the standard adsorption free energy (∆Goads) by Equation 6: 0 ads1 exp 55.5 ads G K RT        (6) where 55.5 is the concentration of water in the solution expressed in, R is the gas constant and T is the absolute temperature. From Table 1, the average value of standard adsorption free energy (∆Goads) > -40 kJ mol-1. The negative value of ∆Goads ensures spontaneity of the adsorption process and the stability of the adsorbed layer on metal surfaces. In general, the values of (∆Goads up to -20 kJ mol-1 are consistent with the electrostatic interaction between the charged molecules and the charged metal (physisorption), while those around -40 kJ mol-1 or higher are associated with chemisorption as a result of sharing or transferring of electrons from organic molecules to metal surface to form a coordinate type of bond. In the present work, the calculated value of ΔG° in all studied temperatures in both techniques are > -40 kJ mol-1 indicating that the adsorption mechanism of EDTA on Al surfaces in 0.5 M HCl solution was typical of chemisorptions. B. Temkin isotherm The nature of the interaction at metal/solution interface is studied by Temkin isotherm. By assuming a uniform distribution of the adsorption energy that increases with the increase of the θ. Temkin isotherm model are given by the Equation (7a and 7b). exp (f,) = Kadsc (7a) and it is rearranged = (1/f) log c + (1/f) log Kads (7b) where Kads is the equilibrium constant, c is the inhibitor concentration,  is the surface coverage, f is the interaction term parameter, a lateral attraction between the adsorbing molecules is assumed if f > 0, but if f < 0, there is a lateral repulsion. The plot of  versus log c, yields curve with linear correlation coefficient R2 ≥ 0.90, close to unity, in all cases. The obtained value of Kads(average) ≈ 4.1×104 and ≈4.4×104 in case of weight loss and polarization techniques repetitively, f > 0 indicating a strong lateral attraction between the adsorbing molecules of EDTA and the surface of the Al. Figure 6. Plots of c versus of Temkin’s adsorption isotherm for the corrosion of Al in 0.5 M HCl at different temperatures, A: from weight loss technique and B: from electrochemical technique R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 243 Table 3. Data obtained from Figure 4 T / K 303 313 323 333 Technique used* Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. f 1.6 1.7 2.3 1.93 2.1 2.15 1.8 2.49 Kads 3.9 x104 4.1 x104 5.1 x104 4.2 x104 4.1 x104 4.4 x104 3.3 x104 4.7 x104 R2 0.95 0.90 0.96 0.90 0.95 0.91 0.95 0.91 * Wt.-loss - Weight loss measurements; Elec. - Electrochemical methods C. Flory-Huggins isotherm The amount of the inhibitor molecules that could displace the water molecules from the metal surface is studied using Flory-Huggins isotherm, which is showed by equation. 8 log (/c) = log k + x log (1- ) (8) where x is the size parameter that measure the number of adsorbed water molecules replaced by a given inhibitor molecule. Figure 7 shows the plot of log (/c) vs. log (1- ), linear relationships with R2 > 0.8 is obtained, and indicating Flory-Huggins isotherm was obeyed. The obtained (Kads)avg = 1.5×104 and the calculated ΔGads > -34 kJ/mol. The size parameter is approximately 1. log (1-) log (1-) Figure 7. Plots of log (1- ) versus log (/c) of Flory Huggin’s adsorption isotherm for the corrosion of Al in 0.5 M HCl at different temperatures, A: From weight loss technique and B: from electrochemical technique Table 4. Data obtained from Figure 5 T / K 303 313 323 333 Technique used* Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. x 0.58 0.47 1.45 0.71 1.15 1.1 0.76 1.4 Kads 1.5 x104 1.5x104 1.8 x104 1.4x104 1.5 x104 1.5x104 1.3 x104 1.5 x104 R2 0.96 0.90 0.98 0.90 0.95 0.91 0.95 0.91 * Wt.-loss - Weight loss measurements; Elec. - Electrochemical methods D. Thermodynamic-kinetic model The surface coverage values obtained from the gravimetric and polarization measurements were also fitted into the adsorption isotherm of the thermodynamic-kinetic model of El-Awady et al. are represented in Equation. 9 log log ' log 1 K c y c          (9) where c is the concentration of the exudates,  is the degree of surface coverage, Kads is the Equilibrium constant of adsorption process, and Kads= K1/y. 1/y is the number of inhibitory molecules occupying one active site (or the number of water molecules replaced by one molecule of EDTA. Curves fitting of the data in the thermodynamic-kinetic model is shown in Fig. 8. This data gave straight lines, the values of 1/y and Kads calculated from the El-Awady et al. curve model is given in lo g ( ([ E D T A ] /  ) / M lo g ( ([ E D T A ] /  ) / M J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 244 Table 4. The values of 1/y (average) obtained are more than unity in all cases, indicating that each molecule EDTA involved in the adsorption process is attached to more than one active site on the metal surface. log([EDTA] / M) log([EDTA] / M) Figure 8. Plots of log c versus log ( / 1-) of thermodynamic-kinetic model for the corrosion of Al in 0.5 M HCl at different temperatures, A: From weight loss technique and B: from electrochemical technique Table 5. Data obtained from Figure 5 T / K 303 313 323 333 Technique used* Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. y 1.31 1.32 0.77 1 0.86 0.84 1.05 0.72 1/y 0.77 0.76 1.31 1 1.22 1.18 0.92 1.39 Kl 7.7 x1014 9.1x1014 4.1 x1012 3.7 x1013 8.9 x1012 7.9x 1012 5.3x 1013 2.1x1012 R2 0.95 0.90 0.94 0.90 0.94 0.92 0.93 0.91 * Wt.-loss - Weight loss measurements; Elec. - Electrochemical methods By rearrangement of Gibbs-Helmholtz equation we obtain Equation 10, which is used to calculate the enthalpy of adsorption (ΔHads) ΔGads/T = (ΔHads/T) K (10) A plot between the variations of (ΔGads/T) and (1/T) gave a straight line whose slope is ΔHads as shown in Figure 9. The entropy of adsorption ΔSads was calculated using the following thermos- dynamic Equation (Equation 11): ΔSads = (ΔHads ΔGads) / T (11) where, data of ΔGads were taken from Langmuir isotherm results (from its R2 value, it is the best fit model) The obtained date of the calculated ΔHads and ΔSads was tabulated in Table 6. Figure 9. Gibbs-Helmholtz rearranged relation between (ΔGads/T) and (1/T) lo g (  / (1 - )) lo g (  / (1 - )) R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 245 Table 6. Adsorption thermodynamic parameters obtained using Langmuir isotherm T / K 303 313 323 333 Technique used* Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. Wt.-loss Elec. -ΔGads / kJ mol-1 66.38 66.38 67.25 70.95 70.78 70.76 71.83 75.16 -ΔHads / kJ mol-1 6.02 0.02 6.02 0.02 6.02 0.02 6.02 0.02 ΔSads / J mol-1 K-1 199.2 196.1 195.6 203.7 200.4 196.1 197.6 202.7 * Wt.-loss - Weight loss measurements; Elec. - Electrochemical methods The negative sign of ΔHads indicated the exothermic process of adsorption of the inhibitor on aluminum surface in HCl. The positive value of ΔSads in the presence of inhibitor can be attributed to the increase in the solvent entropy and more positive desorption entropy. It is also interpreted that the increase of disorderness is due to more water molecules which can be desorbed from the metal surface by one inhibitor molecule. Therefore, it is revealed that decrease in the enthalpy is the driving force for the adsorption of the inhibitor on the surface of aluminum [28,29].The calculated values of heat of adsorption and entropy of adsorption are listed in Table (6). Effect of temperature Based on temperature effect, inhibitors may be classified into three groups: 1. Inhibitors whose inhibition efficiency (IE) decreases with temperature increase. The value of the apparent activation energy Ea, found is greater than that in the uninhibited solution; 2. Inhibitors in whose IE does not change with temperature variation. The apparent activation energy Ea, does not change with the presence or absence of inhibitors; 3. Inhibitors in whose presence the IE increases with temperature increase while the value of Ea for the process is smaller than that obtained in the uninhibited solution. Thus, in examining the effect of temperature on the corrosion process in the presence of EDTA, the Arrhenius Equation (Eq. 12) is helpful alog log 2.303 E CR A RT    (12) where CR is the corrosion rate, Ea is the apparent activation energy, R is the molar gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, and A is the frequency factor. Figure 10 represents the Arrhenius plot as log CR vs. 1/T for Al corrosion in 0.5 M HCl in free so inhibited solution, linear plots were obtained. The values of Ea were obtained from the slope of the Arrhenius plot and are presented in Table 8. From the table, it is seen that Ea increases in the presence of the inhibitors compared to the blank. The higher value of the activation energy of the process in an inhibitor’s presence when compared to that in its absence is attributed to its physisorption, while the opposite is the case with chemisorption. According to Eyring relationships (Eq. 13), both of S* and H* could be obtained, * * ln c Rh H S R NT RT R      (13) where h is the Planck’s constant (6.626176×10-34 J s), N is the Avogadro’s number (6.02252×10-23 mol-1), R is the universal gas constant, ∆H is the enthalpy of activation and ∆S is the entropy of activation. The kinetic results were found to fit the Arrhenius and Eyring equation, where plots of 1/T vs. ln Rc/T or 1/T vs. −ln(hRc/kBT) (kB is Boltzman constant and equation the term R/N) resulted in good straight lines. The activation parameters ∆H* and ∆S* can be evaluated from the slopes and intercepts of the straight line. J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 246 Figure 10. Arrhenius plot as log CR vs. 1/T for Al corrosion in 0.5 M HCl in the absence and presence of various concentrations of EDTA. Data obtained from weight loss technique Table 7. Activation energy, Ea for aluminum corrosion in the presence of EDTA in 0.5 M HCl. c / M -Ea / kJ mol-1 0 51.05 1.07 x10-10 56.01 2.13 x10-10 59.11 3.20 x10-10 58.55 4.27 x10-10 65.93 5.33 x10-10 70.02 6.40 x10-10 69.64 Figure 11 shows Eyring plot and all lines are straight from which ∆H and ∆S were evaluated and their values are put in Table 8. The positive values of ∆H reflect the endothermic dissolution of Al in the presence and absence of the inhibitor. The increase in ΔHa with the increase in the concentration of the inhibitor for Al corrosion reveals that, the decrease in Al corrosion rate is mainly controlled by kinetic parameters of activation. The negative values of ∆S may reflect the association mechanism of corrosion, i.e., the decrease in disorder takes place on going from reactants to the activated state. T-1 / K-1 Figure 11. Eyring plot as log CR/T vs. 1/T for Al corrosion in 0.5 M HCl in the absence and presence of various concentrations of EDTA. Data obtained from weight loss technique R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 247 Table 8. Thermodynamic parameters, ∆H and ∆S (for aluminum corrosion in the presence of EDTA in 0.5 M HCl) c / M -∆S* / J mol-1 K-1 ∆H* / kJ mol-1 0 100.49 21.02 1.07 10-10 88.52 23.18 2.13 10-10 80.07 24.52 3.20 10-10 84.13 24.28 4.27 10-10 62.26 27.48 5.33 10-10 50.85 29.26 6.40 10-10 54.26 29.10 SEM SEM analysis of Al metal surface, The SEM image of the aluminum specimen before and after immersing in 0.5M HCl for100 min in the absence and presence of inhibitor system are shown in Figures 12 (A, B and C) repetitively. The SEM micrographs of aluminum surface after polishing (Fig. 8A) shows a smooth surface of the Al with no corrosion products on its surface. The SEM micrographs of the Al surface immersed in 0.5 M HCl (Fig. 12B) Shows its roughness which indicate the corrosion of Al in HCl. Fig. 12C indicates that in the presence of 10-10 M of EDTA, the surface coverage increases, which in turn results in the formation of insoluble complex on the surface of the metal (EDTA/inhibitor complex) and the surface is covered by a thin layer of inhibitor which effectively control the dissolution of aluminum. Figure 12. SEM of Al surface at 30 °C; A) After polishing, B) after immersion in 0.5 M HCl for 100 min., and C) the same as B but in the presence of 2.7x10-10 M EDTA J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 248 Quantum chemical calculations The activity properties of an inhibitor is related to its geometry as well as the nature of its Frontier Molecular Orbitals, FMO, namely, the HOMO and LUMO. Therefore, in this study, quantum chemical calculations were performed to investigate the relationship between molecular structure of this compound and their inhibition effect. The optimized molecular structure and the FMO density distribution of the studied molecule are shown in Figs. 13 and 14, and the calculated quantum chemical parameters are given in Table 9 . Adsorption centers of the inhibitor molecules are predicted by FMO. These centers are responsible for the interaction with surface metal atoms [42,43]. It was reported that, inhibitors with high HOMO energy offering electrons to unoccupied d orbital of the metal. Where, inhibitors with lower LUMO energy accept electrons from metal surface, as the ΔEg decreased, the efficiency of inhibitor improved [44]. The dipole moment (μ) of EDTA is 5.0542 Debye (1.69x10-29 C m), which is higher than that of H2O (μ = 6.20×10−30 C m = 1.856 Debye). The high value of μ probably increases the adsorption between EDTA and Al surface [45]. Accordingly, the adsorption of EDTA from the aqueous solution can be regarded as a quasi-substitution process between the EDTA in the aqueous phase [EDTAsol] and water molecules at the electrode surface [H2Oads]. Analysis of Fig. 13 shows that the distribution of two energies HOMO and LUMO localized in the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, consequently this is the favorite sites for interaction with the metal surface. The total energy of the EDTA is equal to -691282.91 kcal mol-1. This result indicated that EDTA is favorably adsorbed through the active centers of adsorption. Figure 13.Optimized structure (A), total energy (B) Frontier molecular orbital diagrams; HUMO (C) and LUMO (D) of the EDTA by B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) The number of transferred electrons (ΔN) was also calculated according to Eq. (14) [46,47] Al EDTA Al EDTA 2( ) N         (14) R. E. Azooz J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 doi:10.5599/jese.300 249 Where Al and EDTA denote the absolute electronegativity of Al and EDTA molecule, respecttively; Al and EDTA denote the absolute hardness of Al and EDTA molecule, respectively. These quantities are related to electron affinity (A) and ionization potential (I) 2 I A    and 2 I A    where, I and A are related in turn to EHOMO and ELUMO I = -EHOMO and A = -ELUMO Values of ηEDTA and χEDTA were calculated by using the values of I and A obtained from quantum chemical calculation. The theoretical values of χAl and ηAl are 3.230 and 2.77 eV mol-1, respective- ly [46]. The fraction of electrons transferred from inhibitor to the iron molecule (ΔN) was calculated. According to other reports [46,47], value of ΔN showed inhibition effect resulted from electrons donation. Also the softness is calculated depending upon the following relation: = 1/ In this study, the EDTA was the donators of electrons while the Al surface was the acceptor. The EDTA was bound to the Al surface, and thus formed inhibition adsorption layer against corrosion. The adsorption centers of EDTA are estimated by Mulliken population analysis [48]. Authors believe that, the heteroatom with more negatively charged, is adsorbed on the metal surface through the donor-acceptor type reaction [43]. Figure 14. Energy distribution of EDTA using B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) Table 9. Calculated quantum chemical data for EDTA by B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) T.E. / kcal mol-1 EHUMO /eV ELUMO / eV ∆Egap/ eV µ / Debye I / eV A / eV  / eV η / eV σ / eV ∆N / eV -691282.91 -5.849 -0.613 5.236 5.0542 5.849 0.613 3.231 2.618 0.382 -9.28x10-5 The Mulliken charge of EDTA was shown in Table 10. It can be seen that the most favorable sites for the interaction with the Al surface were the following atoms: N32, N24, N30, N13, O23, O31, O15 and O14. Because these atoms have larger negative charge, that donate electron. This being the preferred zone for nucleophilic attack. For EDTA, the HOMO is localized over the nitrogen N and oxygen O atoms, consequently this is the favorite sites for interaction with the metal. J. Electrochem. Sci. Eng. 6(3) (2016) 235-251 EDTA AS Al CORROSION INHIBITOR 250 Table 10. Mulliken charge of EDTA by B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) Atom Charge Atom Charge Atom Charge 1 C 0.214984 22 C 0.325515 43 H 0.121164 2 C -0.086817 23 O -0.567231 44 H 0.133160 3 C -0.127361 24 N -0.721935 45 H 0.133125 4 C -0.144686 25 C 0.210742 46 H 0.140598 5 C -0.066095 26 C -0.010327 47 H 0.139131 6 C 0.015268 27 C -0.083902 48 H 0.140004 7 C 0.216462 28 C -0.148904 49 H 0.151805 8 C 0.040626 29 C -0.123161 50 H 0.116621 9 C -0.006822 30 C 0.326666 51 H 0.379970 10 C 0.000002 31 O -0.567208 52 H 0.337115 11 C -0.073095 32 N -0.732883 53 H 0.147454 12 C 0.028970 33 C 0.185485 54 H 0.162757 13 N -0.306615 34 C 0.001330 55 H 0.130880 14 O -0.413216 35 C -0.084377 56 H 0.379729 15 O -0.419654 36 C -0.146845 57 H 0.336862 16 N -0.302210 37 C -0.105158 58 H 0.154020 17 C 0.220038 38 C 0.388987 59 H 0.167164 18 C -0.031616 39 O -0.588086 60 H 0.137476 19 C 0.044560 40 N -0.863854 61 H 0.351188 20 C -0.021716 41 H 0.134813 62 H 0.302186 21 C -0.140200 42 H 0.120365 63 H 0.346753 Conclusions 1. 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