Greener Iron Oxide Nanomaterial Inhibits Corrosion of Stainless Steel 316L in Ringer’s Solution

Biomedical implants are useful to replace missing organ of a diseased person. Stainless steel (SS) of 316L grade is commonly used as resource material to make implants. Once fixed in the human body, implants undergo some changes including corrosion. Corroded implant may induce inflammation leading to implant rejection by the body. It is important to prevent the corrosion of implant to increase chances of acceptance in body. The objective of this study was to evaluate the corrosion inhibition properties of Ficus benghalensis synthesized Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in Ringer’s solution for SS-316L. The synthesized green NPs were spherical in shape, 30–50 nm in size and have − 12 mV surface charge. Further, the IONPs have a tendency to agglomerate. Gravimetric test and electrochemical tests were carried out to estimate the corrosion inhibition efficiency. The adsorption of IONPs over SS-316L surface followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Maximum 82.20% potentiodynamic polarization corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) was obtained using 100 ppm of IONPs. The electrochemical study showed mixed type of corrosion inhibition (anodic and cathodic). The corrosion inhibition efficiency was found to increase with increase in the concentration of IONPs in the Ringer’s solution. Thus, IONPs can be explored as efficient corrosion inhibitor for SS-316L in an aggressive environment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.