Investigation of corrosion inhibition of low carbon steel using expired drug Levocetirizine as a potential corrosion inhibitor in 0.5 M H2SO4 medium

Abstract The inhibitory properties of low carbon steel (LCS) surface in 0.5 M H2SO4 medium were assessed using expired Levocetirizine (LCZN) drug through chemical and electrochemical methods. Gravimetric analysis demonstrated the drug's ability to inhibit corrosion on LCS surface with 95.16 percentage inhibition efficiency (%IE). Polarization results demonstrated that LCZN acted as a mixed-type inhibitor with IE. of 97.05%. Impedance analysis further substantiated the presence of LCZN adsorption on the LCS surface. The inhibition efficiency is interpreted through the adsorption phenomenon. Several investigations, such as FT-IR, (SEM)-EDS, and TEM analysis unveiled adsorption on the LCS surface. Further validations carried out using quantum chemical calculations.