Imidazoles as highly effective heterocyclic corrosion inhibitors for metals and alloys in aqueous electrolytes: A review

•In the present review imidazole and its derivatives are surveyed as corrosion inhibitors for metals and alloys.•Generally, imidazole and its derivatives inhibit metallic corrosion by adsorbing on the interface of metal and electrolytes.•Literature studies revealed that imidazole and its derivatives behaved as mixed type corrosion inhibitors.•Mostly, imidazole and its derivatives acted as interface type corrosion inhibitors.•Imidazole and its derivatives interact with metallic surface using donor-acceptor (charge sharing) interactions.