Benevolent behavior of Kleinia grandiflora leaf extract as a green corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in sulfuric acid solution

The ethanolic extract of Kleinia grandiflora leaves was characterized and tested for its potential anticorrosion properties on mild steel in 1 M H₂SO₄ medium using mass-loss analysis, potentiodynamic polarization measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior of mild steel was studied in the range of 308 to 328 K. The inhibition efficiency was observed to increase with increasing concentration of the extract. Polarization curves revealed that the Kleinia grandiflora leaf extract is a mixed inhibitor. Impedance diagrams revealed that an increase of Kleinia grandiflora leaf extract concentration increased the charge transfer resistance and decreased the double-layer capacitance. The adsorption process obeys Langmuir’s model, with a standard free energy of adsorption (ΔG_ads) of −18.62 kJ/mol. The obtained results indicate that the Kleinia grandiflora leaf extract can serve as an effective inhibitor for the corrosion of mild steel in a sulfuric acid medium.