A Hybrid Machine Learning-DFT Framework for High-Throughput Screening of Organic Corrosion Inhibitors: From Electronic Structure Prediction to Experimental Validation

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Chemical Engineering, Calgary University, Canada

Abstract
The discovery of effective and environmentally friendly organic corrosion inhibitors remains constrained by slow experimental screening and fragmented computational workflows . This study presents an integrated hybrid framework combining density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and machine learning (ML) for high-throughput screening of organic corrosion inhibitors. DFT provides quantum-level insights into electronic structure and adsorption energetics through frontier molecular orbital analysis (EHOMO, ELUMO, energy gap ΔE), while MD captures time-dependent interfacial behavior and competitive ion interactions . A comprehensive dataset of 284 phenyl phthalimide derivatives was generated through DFT and MD simulations, with electronic properties correlated to experimental inhibition efficiency values . Among various ML models evaluated, Artificial Neural Networks demonstrated the highest prediction accuracy, achieving R² values of 93.18% for EHOMO and 91.12% for ELUMO . SHAP and PFI feature importance analyses revealed that descriptors B06[C-N] and qnmax are essential for inhibitor efficacy . The integrated framework addresses key limitations in current approaches including data scarcity, non-standardized descriptor selection, insufficient physical interpretability, and poor generalization across chemically diverse systems . Experimental validation through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization confirmed the predictive capability of the ML models, with excellent agreement between predicted and measured inhibition efficiencies. This work establishes a unified, scalable, and physically informed computational framework for rational design and discovery of next-generation corrosion inhibitors.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 04 July 2026