https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06376-z
Regular Article
Exploration of the Ocimum americanum extract as a novel pickling agent for steel in sulfuric acid medium: electrochemical, surface modification, DFT, and MC simulation studies
1
Department of Chemistry, Chandigarh University Gharuan Mohali, Ludhiana-Chandigarh National Highway NH-05, 140413, Ludhiana, India
2
Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, 4111, Nathan, QLD, Australia
3
Department of VLSI Microelectronics, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, 602105, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
4
Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences Research Group, Scientific Research Center, Al-Ayen University, 64001, Nasiriyah, Thi-Qar, Iraq
5
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Chemistry, Government Digvijay Autonomous Postgraduate College, 491441, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India
7
National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI”, Kashirskoe Shosse 31, 115409, Moscow, Russian Federation
8
Chemical and Materials Engineering, New Uzbekistan University, 54 Mustaqillik Ave., 100007, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
9
Department of Physical Chemistry, National University of Uzbekistan, 100034, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
10
Physics and Chemistry, Western Caspian University, AZ-1001, Baku, Azerbaijan
Received:
1
February
2025
Accepted:
28
April
2025
Published online:
20
May
2025
The present study investigates the acid pickling nature of the Ocimum americanum extract (OAE) an acidic media. Corrosion is a common problem in industrial applications; therefore, the study intends to minimize corrosion by exploiting the OAE’s natural advantages as an environmentally benign alternative to standard inhibitors. The ability of the OAE was assessed utilizing a variety of methods. The anti-corrosive behavior of the OAE was tested using the linear polarization and impedance methods. The maximum efficacy of 92.93% is observed at 2000 ppm concentration of the OAE. It is identified that the OAE adsorbs on the mild steel surface, preventing corrosive assault in acidic environments due to morphological alterations, functional groups, and a combination of both physisorption and chemisorption. Apart from the electrochemical and surface analysis, the DFT and MC simulation confirm the effectiveness of the OAE as a pickling agent in sulfuric acid medium..
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
