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This work investigates the inhibition effect and adsorption properties of a new tailor-made synthesized model molecule of ionic liquids, namely N-decyl nicotinamide bromide [C10Nic]Br in an acidic 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution (pH = 2.7) against the corrosion of copper. Electrochemical methods (ac electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and dc potentiodynamic polarization), and piezoelectric method (quartz crystal microbalance with impedance analysis (EQCM-I) were applied to study the corrosion protection performance of the inhibitor. Electrochemical measurements have indicated favorable corrosion inhibition performance of [C10Nic]Br. The corrosion inhibition efficiency increases with the increase of inhibitor concentration, at a [C10Nic]Br concentration of 10−3 M the efficiency reaches 93 %. The inhibitor adsorption slightly differed from the ideal Langmuir adsorption isotherm. [C10Nic]Br can be considered to be a mixed-type inhibitor. The inhibition efficiency was found to be time-dependent. In the presence of the highest 10−3 M inhibitor concentration the formation of the maximum protective effect of the inhibitor layer takes several hours, the maximum value of polarization resistance was 8.5 kΩ cm2 after 5 h. The copper dissolution and the inhibitor adsorption were also monitored by real-time changes in mass and viscoelasticity determined by QCM-I. It was obtained that the inhibitor adsorption on the copper surface leads to a decrease in copper dissolution and an increase in viscoelasticity. The layer on the copper surface becomes softer due to the complex between the inhibitor and the corrosion products on the surface.

Lately, due to its accessibility and eco-friendliness, walnut shell biochar (WS-BC) is gaining attention as an electrode material component in the electrochemical detection of water pollutants. The overall performance of WS-BC is reliant on the nature of raw biomass and the production methods as well. In our concept, biochar, prepared from raw walnut shell (WS) by pyrolysis, was added to a carbon paste electrode (CPE), and poly-tyrosine (p-Tyr) was electrodeposited on the surface of the BC-doped electrode. The conditions of the elaboration of the electrode, such as pH, potential, and the number of deposition cycles, pH were optimized. The obtained p-Tyr-BC-CPE platform was tested for the determination of cadmium, lead, copper, and mercury ions in water and soil samples, using square wave voltammetry (SWV). The raw WS biomass and its BC were examined by thermal analysis (TG-DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) techniques. The synergistic effects of the coexistence of the WS-BC and the thin film of p-Tyr, for the detection of traces of heavy metal ions were investigated by electrochemical tests. The electrochemical characterization of the unmodified and modified electrodes was performed using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods, while the Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+ detection experiments were studied using the CV and SWV techniques. The optimized experimental conditions for the p-Tyr-BC-CPE platform were evaluated. The obtained electrochemical results showed that the p-Tyr-BC-CPE platform produced excellent sensitivity toward the heavy metal ions: LOD of 0.086, 0.175, 0.246, and 0.383 nM for Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II), respectively. The modified electrode platform displayed high selectivity, stability, and good reproducibility.

The new application of C-dec-9-enylcalix[4]resorcinarene (R1), as an ionophore to detect heavy metals (HMs) cations (Cd2+, Hg2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+) in the aqueous media has been investigated through the preparation of an effective mass-sensitive sensor via the exploitation of a flow-type QCM-I technique. By adjusting the ions’ amounts in model solutions over a wide range of concentrations, acquired changes in the oscillating frequency related to the loading of metal ions on the sensor’s surface were gained, and thus favorable metrological parameters displaying the lowest detection limit (LOD) associated with copper ions (10 ppb). Simultaneously, a novel voltammetric sensor was prepared by modifying gold screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) with R1. Electrochemical characterization employing CV, SWV, and EIS was carried out, showing the success of the electrode modification. Then, the experimental conditions of supporting electrolyte, pH, accumulation time, and accumulation potential were optimized to achieve an enhanced detection. The R1@SPE sensor simultaneously detected the HMs (Cd2+, Hg2+, Cu2+, Pb2+), and the lowest LOD was associated with Pb2+ (0.19 ppb). The selectivity evaluation of the electrochemical sensor was performed by studying the effect of interferences majorly present in water sources (Mg2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Al3+, and K+) on the SWV detection signals, and it was revealed that the interfering ions did not affect the simultaneous detection of the studied HMs (RSD less than 5%), the voltammetric sensors also presented excellent repeatability and reproducibility (RSD less than 5%).

Tin–silver–copper (SAC) solder alloys are the most promising candidates to replace Sn–Pb solder alloys. However, their application is still facing several challenges; one example is the electrochemical corrosion behaviour, which imposes a risk to electronics reliability. Numerous investigations have been carried out to evaluate the corrosion performance of SAC lead-free alloys, regarding the effect of the corrosive environment, the different manufacturing technologies, the effect of fluxes, the metallic contents within the SAC alloys themselves, and the different alloying elements. In these studies, widely used electrochemical techniques are applied as accelerated corrosion tests, such as linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. However, there is lack of studies that try to summarise the various corrosion results in terms of lead-free solder alloys including low-Ag and composite solders. This study aims to review these studies by showing the most important highlights regarding the corrosion processes and the possible future developments.