Eco-friendly starch-based inhibitory composition for corrosion protection of reinforced concrete structures in weakly alkaline environments

Keywords

carbon steel, weakly alkaline solution, chloride solution, corrosion inhibition, starch, sodium glutamic acid, protective film, metal polarization resistance, corrosion current, degree of protection.

Cite as

Tymus M. B., Zin I. M., Korniy S. A., and Fedoriv V. I. Eco-friendly starch-based inhibitory composition for corrosion protection of reinforced concrete structures in weakly alkaline environments. Physico­chemical Mechanics of Materials. 2025. 61(6), 48-56.

https://doi.org/10.15407/pcmm2025.06.048

Abstract

The corrosion behaviour of St3 steel in weakly alkaline and chloride-containing solutions was investigated using potentiodynamic polarisation, electrochemical impedance spectro­scopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. These environments were inhibited by starch biopolymer and a composition based on it. The opti­mal concentration of the starch+sodium glutamate composition components was established, with a total content of 2 g/l. A 18-fold decrease in charge transfer resistance was observed in the composition-inhibited environment compared to the non-inhibited one during pro­longed exposure (120 h) to a weakly alkaline environment and a 10-fold decrease in a chloride-containing weakly alkaline environment. The high inhibitory efficiency (more than 90%) of the created composition for the protection of carbon steel in a weakly alkaline chloride-containing corrosive environment, which simulates a pore solution in concrete, was established. The protective mechanism of the starch+sodium glutamate composition consists not only in the adsorption binding of starch molecules through electron-rich hydroxyl groups and the formation of surface complexes with iron, but also in the com­paction of the surface protective film by ionised glutamates. The developed composition is made of renewable organic plant raw materials and effectively protects steel structures and products against corrosion not only in slightly alkaline environments, but also in chloride-containing slightly alkaline ones that are formed as a result of concrete ageing.

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