Aliphatic tricationic surfactants were prepared by the esterification reaction, followed by a quaternization reaction to protect oil well facilities from corrosion problems. Microelemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques were performed to explore the obtained motifs. The performance of these amphiphiles as inhibitors for metallic S90 steel corrosion in formation water was investigated through electrochemical tests (potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). The results revealed significant inhibition effectiveness improvement with increasing concentrations of these amphiphiles. Its maximum inhibition efficiency reaches 93.07% at 250 ppm for the compound (AED). Potentiodynamic polarization graphs demonstrated that tricationic amphiphiles behave as mixed-type inhibitors. In addition, the adsorption of the tricationic surfactant at the S90 steel surface followed Langmuir isotherm. Atomic force microscopy revealed that a protective layer formed at the surface of S90 steel caused the inhibition of corrosion. During the inhibition procedure of S90 steel corrosion, theoretical research has been performed to validate electrochemical experiments and to clearly demonstrate the mechanism of these amphiphiles. Finally, quantum chemical calculations were calculated to achieve the justification for the obtained empirical results.
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