Review of Application of Imidazole and Imidazole Derivatives as Corrosion Inhibitors of Metals

Abstract

Imidazole is part of the theophylline molecule, found in tea leaves and coffee beans, which stimulates the central nervous system. Imidazole and its derivatives are an important class of heterocyclic compounds that exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. Furthermore, synthetic Imidazole are present in many fungicides, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumor activities, antiprotozoal, and antihypertensive medications. Apart of its use for biological and pharmaceutical purpose, it also has varying applications in industries: the imidazole has been used extensively as a corrosion inhibitor on metals such as iron, copper, zinc, carbon steel, and their alloys. Imidazole and its derivatives have been reported as effective corrosion inhibitors due to their excellent excited state intra-molecular proton transfer, which elevates the performances of their adsorption into the metallic surface. In this chapter, the authors have reported a review of some works that investigated the effects of some Imidazole molecule on corrosion inhibition properties.