Effect of ring planarity on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel by benzimidazolone derivatives: A molecular dynamics and electrochemical study
6 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Engineering, Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco
- 2Laboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
- 3Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), P.O. Box, 90950, Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.
- 4Department of Architectural Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangrok-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
- 5Chemistry Department, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Qunfudah University College, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
- 6Innovative Durable Building and Infrastructure Research Center, Center for Creative Convergence Education, Hanyang University ERICA, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangrok-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Understanding how molecular-scale structural variations propagate into film-level mechanical and transport properties at metal/organic interfaces remains a central challenge in interfacial science. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (GAFF2, explicit 1.0 mol/L HCl) of self-assembled inhibitor films are used to isolate the role of a single five-membered linker ring — planar aromatic isoxazole (IBIM) versus non-planar saturated isoxazoline (HIBIM) — within otherwise identical N-substituted benzimidazolone inhibitors, so that film-level differences can be attributed to ring planarity alone. The planar IBIM film shows caged, sub-diffusive molecular motion, whereas HIBIM packs more densely through stronger van der Waals cohesion but at the cost of a three-fold higher internal Coulombic repulsion, a latent electrostatic penalty that undermines film stability. These computed descriptors are consistent with the experiments on mild steel in 1.0 mol/L HCl: electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization give inhibition efficiencies above 97% for both compounds at 10–4 mol/L, with IBIM retaining its performance at 328 K while HIBIM declines, and atomic force microscopy reveals a markedly smoother surface under the IBIM film. The results establish a structure–property principle for organic films on metals: planar, conjugated linkers favor rigid, thermally stable interfacial films by minimizing destabilizing Coulombic repulsion rather than by maximizing van der Waals attraction — a design criterion relevant to corrosion inhibitors, self-assembled monolayers, and functional organic interfaces.
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BibTeX
@article{elmrayej2026effect,
title = {{Effect of ring planarity on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel by benzimidazolone derivatives: A molecular dynamics and electrochemical study}},
author = {H. Elmrayej and W. Ettahiri and G. En-Nabety and M. Adardour and M. Messali and N. El Messaoudi and Han-seung Lee and Awad A. Alrashdi and M.M. Abou-krisha and Hassane Lgaz and M. Taleb},
journal = {International Journal of Electrochemical Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101523},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101523},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effect of ring planarity on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel by benzimidazolone derivatives: A molecular dynamics and electrochemical study
AU - H. Elmrayej
AU - W. Ettahiri
AU - G. En-Nabety
AU - M. Adardour
AU - M. Messali
AU - N. El Messaoudi
AU - Han-seung Lee
AU - Awad A. Alrashdi
AU - M.M. Abou-krisha
AU - Hassane Lgaz
AU - M. Taleb
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - International Journal of Electrochemical Science
DO - 10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101523
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101523
AB - Understanding how molecular-scale structural variations propagate into film-level mechanical and transport properties at metal/organic interfaces remains a central challenge in interfacial science. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (GAFF2, explicit 1.0 mol/L HCl) of self-assembled inhibitor films are used to isolate the role of a single five-membered linker ring — planar aromatic isoxazole (IBIM) versus non-planar saturated isoxazoline (HIBIM) — within otherwise identical N-substituted benzimidazolone inhibitors, so that film-level differences can be attributed to ring planarity alone. The planar IBIM film shows caged, sub-diffusive molecular motion, whereas HIBIM packs more densely through stronger van der Waals cohesion but at the cost of a three-fold higher internal Coulombic repulsion, a latent electrostatic penalty that undermines film stability. These computed descriptors are consistent with the experiments on mild steel in 1.0 mol/L HCl: electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization give inhibition efficiencies above 97% for both compounds at 10–4 mol/L, with IBIM retaining its performance at 328 K while HIBIM declines, and atomic force microscopy reveals a markedly smoother surface under the IBIM film. The results establish a structure–property principle for organic films on metals: planar, conjugated linkers favor rigid, thermally stable interfacial films by minimizing destabilizing Coulombic repulsion rather than by maximizing van der Waals attraction — a design criterion relevant to corrosion inhibitors, self-assembled monolayers, and functional organic interfaces.
SN - 1452-3981
ER -