The effect of nitrite and molybdate anions on the corrosion of mild steel in aerated, near
neutral 8.6x10-3 M (500 ppm) NaCl solution has been explored with weight loss,
electrochemical, and optical microscopy techniques. Each moiety acts as an anodic inhibitor
under these conditions, exhibiting a critical concentration for the onset of effective inhibition.
Potentiodynamic polarization curve measurements indicate that both nitrite and molybdate act
as passivating anodic inhibitors, and they appear to have little effect on the cathodic kinetics.
Various binary mixtures of these anions were also examined, and a number exhibited effective
inhibition. Furthermore, two mixtures were concluded to exhibit synergistic behaviour, as
regards corrosion inhibition.
Keywords: mild steel, molybdate, nitrite, inhibition, synergism