This study presents the synthesis of two new bisimidazole-based copoly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) through multistep preparation routes. It is shown that the target PILs can display orderly molecular stacking, and nano- to micro-self-aggregates are yielded in aqueous sulfuric acid solution, which are characterized by various technologies including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. The studied PIL aggregates show strong chemical adsorption onto the copper surfaces demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, the anticorrosion performance of the studied PIL aggregates is shown using polarization curves and impedance spectroscopy. As a result, the target PIL aggregates show great corrosion inhibition performance to protect copper in aggressive acid medium.
Keywords: copper; corrosion inhibition; poly(ionic liquid)s; self-aggregation; sulfuric acid solution.