Investigation on the control effect of benzotriazole and two derivatives on cobalt pitting corrosion in chemical mechanical polishing process: A combination of experiments and theoretical simulations

•The inhibition effect of traditional corrosion inhibitor BTA on cobalt pitting is not ideal.•The molecules of MBTA and TT-LYK have stronger electron donating ability than BTA.•The passivation films formed by MBTA and TT-LYK are more hydrophobic than BTA.•TT-LYK can protect cobalt from pitting in corrosive environmental.