Carbon dots as effective corrosion inhibitor for 5052 aluminium alloy in 0.1 M HCl solution

Abstract N and S co-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) were first adopted as a corrosion inhibitor for aluminium alloy. The inhibition behavior of N, S-CDs for 5052 aluminium alloy in HCl solution was studied via weight loss, surface characterizations, and electrochemical measurements. Results confirm that N, S-CDs could protect aluminium effectively and the inhibition efficiencies reached 85% even at 5 mg L−1. N, S-CDs could adhere to the aluminium surface through the diffusion and agglomeration effect of nanomaterials, and the interaction between aluminium ions and N, S-CDs results in the formation of a reticular resist film on an aluminium surface.