Study on Copper Protection in H2S-rich Marine Environments using SAMs from Sargassum Extract

Abstract

Corrosion is a complex and progressive degradation process that occurs when an aggressive external agent attacks a metal and is known to cause significant harm to materials, the environment, and metals. One important factor in these physicochemical phenomena is the atmosphere. Factors like temperature, humidity, and salinity are relevant. For most materials, the marine environment is the ideal example of an environment that is naturally aggressive. Because few metals can resist it, they must be protected. For instance, when copper corrodes in an alkaline environment, copper oxide forms a protective film on the metal's surface, reducing its ability to attack. Nevertheless, the metal eventually deteriorates because of the instability of the surrounding environment, so this solution is only temporary. These days, plants-based inhibitors represent a real source of robust, long-lasting protection. They can function as natural inhibitors of metals and their alloys due to their very beneficial natural characteristics. Therefore, the focus of this work is on how Sargassum fluitans III self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) inhibit copper corrosion in coastal environments. When copper is submerged directly in the inhibiting solution, the extract successfully prevents copper corrosion, according to the findings of surface analysis and electrochemistry. In this article, for example, it was demonstrated that sargassum extract halves the loss of copper thickness, reducing it from 8.00±0.61 mm to 4.76±0.52 mm on a site heavily exposed to sea salts.