Formal theory of corrosion inhibition. Current state. A brief review

• A.Yu. Luchkin¹, O.A. Goncharova¹, N.N. Andreev¹ and D. Zhang²

¹ Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 31-4, Leninsky prospect, 119071 Moscow, Russia
² Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 201306, China

Abstract: The current state of the “formal theory” of corrosion inhibition is considered. It is shown that inhibitor protection can be achieved by shielding the metal surface and increasing the activation energy of the corrosion process. The overall corrosion inhibition coefficient is determined by the product of the partial coefficients of corrosion inhibition by the blocking and activation mechanisms. It is demonstrated that the quantitative estimation of the partial inhibition coefficients for both mechanisms is possible for systems whose electrochemical impedance spectra are described by the Mansfeld equivalent circuit. The formulas are analyzed to evaluate the mutual interaction of the components of binary inhibitor mixtures (additivity, synergism, antagonism) using data on the degrees or coefficients of metal protection for the mixtures and their components, as well as corrosion protection times. Mixing chamber inhibitors that do not interact with each other is accompanied by an increase in protection efficiency compared to the individual components.

Keywords: corrosion inhibition, formal theory, blocking and activation mechanisms, mutual effect of components of mixed inhibitors, additivity, synergism, antagonism

Int. J. Corros. Scale Inhib., 2026, 15, no. 4, 105-117
doi: 10.17675/2305-6894-2026-15-4-4

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