Maleated Chitosan as Competent Biopolymer‐Based Corrosion Inhibitor for Copper in 3.5 <scp>wt/vol% NaCl</scp> Medium

ABSTRACT Design and development of eco‐friendly corrosion inhibitors have high demand due to environmental concern, where the employment of biopolymers plays an important role. In this study, an eco‐friendly corrosion inhibitor (maleated chitosan) was developed by modifying chitosan with maleic anhydride by an amidation reaction and used for copper in artificial sea water medium (3.5 wt/vol% NaCl). The maleated chitosan was characterized by FTIR, FESEM, EDX, zeta potential measurement, and solubility study. Contact angle measurement data indicated that the hydrophobicity of the copper surface increased with the addition of the inhibitor. To evaluate their inhibition performance, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods were employed. Both PDP and EIS studies showed that 300 ppm maleated chitosan increased almost 9%–10% of corrosion inhibition efficiency compared to pristine chitosan. Experimental results showed that the inhibitors (chitosan and maleated chitosan) were mixed‐type in nature, and the adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm. Finally, it is anticipated that simple preparation procedure and improved anti‐corrosive activity of maleated chitosan may create a noteworthy influence for mitigating copper corrosion in desalination and maritime sectors.