AbstractThe dissolution of copper in nitric acid solution in the presence of resorcinol, o, p‐aminophenols, catechol, o‐cresol and salicylaldehyde as corrosion inhibitors has been studied by galvanostatic polarization and weight loss methods. For these compounds the two methods gave consistent results.Polarization data suggest that in the case of these inhibitors the cathode is preferentially polarized under the influence of an external current. The inhibitors appear to function through general adsorption following the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibiting effect of tested compounds is due to the destruction of the HNO2formed and its interference with the cathodic react