Abstract
•Corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl by N, S-CDs was investigated.•Inhibition efficiencies were experimentally achieved by EIS and PDP techniques.•Surface characterizations have been performed by SEM, AFM, and CAM tests.•The adsorption behavior was demonstrated by XPS.
Novel N, S co-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) with memory effect were prepared by hydrothermal method using citric acid and l-cysteine as precursors. Structural and morphological characterizations confirmed that N, S-CDs are carbon dots with multifunctional groups and excellent water solubility. Electrochemical measurements indicated that N, S-CDs can effectively inhibit the charge transfer in the corrosion process of steel, and the inhibition efficiency is nearly 90%. The obtained N, S-CDs exhibits outstanding inhibition performance for steel corrosion, which offers a new thought for exploring environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors.