Benzotriazole (BTAH) has been used as a copper corrosion inhibitor since the 1950s. Several adsorption models have been proposed,[1] however the details of how adsorption and surface passivation occur remain a matter of debate. BTAH interaction with a Cu(111) single crystal under UHV conditions has been investigated via vibrational spectroscopy (RAIRS, HREELS) and STM, with support from DFT calculations. At low coverage, BTAH adsorbs as Cu(BTA)2 and CuBTA, which form chains, whose sections diffuse in a concerted manner, while the Cu surface forms a (2�1) reconstruction.[2]Two coexisting extended self-assembled packings are observed at saturation coverage and above, up to desorption at ca. 600 K. The selectivity of BTAH for copper is further investigated by coadsorption of BTAH and copper onto a Au(111) surface, where the topology of the overlayer shows dependency upon preparation conditions and heating treatments. Figure 1 summarizes the different structures observed. This study may contribute to understanding further the interaction between BTAH and Cu, and in turn the mechanism for surface passivation.Figure 1. STM images showing: a) ca. 0.05ML BTAH/Cu(111); b) ca. 1ML BTAH/Cu(111); c) BTAH on Cu/Au(111); d) Cu on BTAH/Au(111).References1. M. Fin�gar, I. Milo�ev, Corrosion Science, 2010, 52, 2737.2. F. Grillo et al., Nanoscale, 5 (2013) 5269.

Role of benzotriazole in passivating copper surfaces

247th National Meeting (2014)

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