Inhibition of copper corrosion in aerated hydrochloric acid solution by amino-acid compounds

The effect of two amino-acid compounds, dl-alanine and dl-cysteine, on copper corrosion in an aerated 0.5 mol l−1 HCl solution was studied by weight-loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarisation curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A conventional benzotriazole (BTA) inhibitor was also tested for comparison. dl-cysteine was shown to be the most effective inhibitor among those tested inhibitors. Potentiodynamic polarisation results revealed that both the dl-alanine and dl-cysteine acted as an anodic inhibitor; however, dl-cysteine, in particular, was more effective, as it strongly suppressed anodic current densities. The improved inhibition efficiency of dl-cysteine in the 0.5 mol l−1 HCl solution was due to its adsorption on the copper surface via the mercapto group in its molecular structure.