ABSTRACT
Corrosion is a major global issue, which is the degradation of a material because of environmental contact. Using coatings and corrosion inhibitors (CIs) is one of the most widely used methods for preventing corrosion. Researchers, manufacturers, and corrosion scientists have recently started focusing on developing and using ecologically friendly substitutes for conventionally hazardous CIs because of increasing ecological awareness and stringent environmental restrictions. In the protection of metals in hostile settings, there is growing interest in the application of environmentally friendly and sustainable anticorrosive coatings. Due to the reputation of biopolymers as environmentally acceptable materials and the fact that they have a variety of adsorption sites, they are increasingly used for protection against the corrosion of industrial metal substrates. Nonetheless, most BPs function as moderate CIs. Copolymerization, the addition of compounds that work synergistically, and the insertion of nanoscale inorganic compounds into the biopolymer matrix are some of the measures taken to address this issue. Biopolymer composites and nanocomposites as anticorrosion elements have shown impressive capabilities, and studies have reported that they can generate metal chelates that would shield metal surfaces from hostile ions found under corrosive conditions. In this regard, this chapter explains the adsorption behavior of chitosan and its derivatives, how they connect with metallic surfaces through donor–acceptor relationships, and how they hinder metallic corrosion by producing surface layers.
