Study of the adsorption of benzimidazole and 2‐mercaptobenzothiazole on an iron surface by confocal micro‐Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

Abstract Benzimidazole (BIMH) and 2‐mercaptobenzothiazole (HMBT) dissolved in ethanol were chosen for the investigation of the interaction between organic molecules and surface atoms of iron or iron oxide by confocal micro‐Raman spectroscopy. Both BIMH and HMBT show enhanced and highly structured spectra in the 200–1500 cm −1 region when the iron is at a potential of ca −0.7 to −0.9 V in a neutral medium. BIMH had a weak interaction with the iron surface in a basic medium but it was chemically adsorbed in a neutral medium. HMBT was chemically adsorbed on the iron via the exocyclic S and N atoms in acidic and neutral solutions, whereas in basic media it was bound electrostatically. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.