A series of some cationic surfactants was synthesized namely: N,N,N-tris(hydroxymethyl)-2-oxo-
2-(2-(2-(dodecanoyloxy)ethoxy)ethoxy)ethanaminium chloride (DDAC); N,N,N-tris(hydroxymethyl)-2-
oxo-2-(2-(2-(tetradecanoyloxy) ethoxy) ethoxy) ethanaminium chloride (TDAC) and N,N,Ntris(
hydroxymethyl)-2-oxo-2-(2-(2-(hexadecanoyloxy)ethoxy)ethoxy)ethanaminium chloride (HDAC).
Their chemical structures were characterized using FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy. Corrosion inhibition
performance of these compounds on carbon steel in 0.5 M HCl was studied using weight loss and potentiodynamic
polarization methods. It was seen that the three synthesized cationic surfactants decreased the corrosion
rate of mild steel in acidic medium due to the adsorption on the metal surface. And it was found that
the inhibition efficiency increased with increasing the inhibitor concentration. The adsorption of inhibitors
on the carbon steel surface obeys modified Langmuir equation which named Villamil isotherm adsorption.
Polarization curves show that the synthesized inhibitors are mixed-type inhibitors in 0.5 M HCl. were
ranged from –31.65 to –33.40 kJ mol–1 which indicate that the adsorption process is mixture between physical
and chemical adsorption.