Orange Peel-impregnated Sodium Montmorillonite as a Sustainable Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel

Metal structures are always exposed to corrosion, and this slow but continuous phenomenon causes a decrease in the strength of metals, ultimately causing their destruction and inflicting financial and human losses. Chemical inhibitors have always been used to prevent the corrosion process, but due to their irreparable harm to the environment, the use of green corrosion inhibitors has received much attention. This study investigates the corrosion inhibition properties of sodium montmorillonite nanoparticles (Na⁺-MMT) with orange peel compounds. The prepared nanoparticles (O-MMT) were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The evaluation results showed that the orange peel compounds were successfully added to the host (MMT). Then, the nanoparticles were added to the epoxy (EP) matrix and the effect of improving their anti-corrosion resistance was evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization methods. The results showed that the inhibition efficiency (IE) for O-MMT is around 94%.