Grafted Biopolymers as Corrosion Inhibitors

12 Grafted Pectin as Sustainable Corrosion Inhibitors

Dan-Yang Wang, Hui-Jing Li, and Yan-Chao Wu

Weihai Marine Organism & Medical Technology Research Institute, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai 264209, P. R. China

12.1 Introduction

Pectin is a natural heteropolysaccharide obtained from the cell walls of terrestrial higher plants, with the characteristics of biocompatibility, environmental, and non-toxicity [1, 2]. The sources of pectin generally are the leaves, skins, stems, and fruits of plants such as citrus, apple, grapefruit, beet, fig, orange, potato, peanut, and sunflower. At present, pectin is widely applied in the food industry as a gelling agent and potential functions to make full use of pectin are being explored [3]. In nature, the structure and function of pectin rely on plant species and subordinate parts. Pectin present in the fruit is reduced by pectinase to pectinesterase during its ripening process [4]. It is the second most abundant polysaccharide in plant cells besides cellulose. Pectin is a ubiquitous component of the cell wall, which reduces the porosity of the cell wall and promotes adhesion between adjacent cells in the middle lamella [5]. It can release signaling oligosaccharides to regulate biological processes such as plant growth and development and prevent the invasion of pathogenic bacteria [6]. The relative content of pectin depends on the plant and cell type, for example, the relative content of pectin in the primary and secondary cell ...