Abstract
In this study, we designed and fabricated NbTiAlSiZrNx high-entropy alloy (HEA) films. The parameters of the radio frequency (RF) pulse magnetron sputtering process were fixed to maintain the N2 flux ratio at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. Subsequently, NbTiAlSiZrNx HEA films were deposited on the 304 stainless steel (SS) substrate. With an increasing N2 flow rate, the film deposited at a RN of 50% had the highest hardness (12.4 GPa), the highest modulus (169 GPa), a small roughness, and a beautiful color. The thicknesses of the films were gradually reduced from 298.8 nm to 200 nm, and all the thin films were of amorphous structure. The electrochemical corrosion resistance of the film in a 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution at room temperature was studied and the characteristics changed. The HEA films prepared at N2 flow rates of 10% and 30% were more prone to corrosion than 304 SS, but the corrosion rate was lower than that of 304 SS. NbTiAlSiZrNx HEA films prepared at N2 flow rates of 20%, 40%, and 50% were more corrosion-resistant than 304 SS. In addition, the passivation stability of the NbTiAlSiZrNx HEA was worse than that of 304 SS. Altogether, these results show that pitting corrosion occurred on NbTiAlSiZrNx HEA films.
Highlights
Improving corrosive resistance and mechanical properties is an important part of alloy thin film research [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The researchers changed the conditions of nitrogen flow ratio (RN ) to increase the (AlCrSiTiZr)100-x Nx thin film content to 30%, which was deposited on the 6061 aluminum alloy and carbon steel substrate, thereby optimizing the mechanical properties and corrosive resistance of high-entropy alloy (HEA) thin films
Nitride films achieved higher hardness and Young’s modulus than as-cast (Al0.5 CrFeNiTi0.25 )Nx bulk alloys [35]. These results indicated that HEA films have potential application on protective coatings to improve the hardness and corrosion resistance of knives and cutting tools
Summary
Improving corrosive resistance and mechanical properties is an important part of alloy thin film research [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Magnetron sputtering and laser cladding are two of the most important methods for preparing HEA coatings [22,23,24,25,26,27,28] Both N2 flow rate and substrate bias affect hardness, the elastic modulus, and corrosive resistance of HEA coatings. The researchers changed the conditions of nitrogen flow ratio (RN ) to increase the (AlCrSiTiZr)100-x Nx thin film content to 30%, which was deposited on the 6061 aluminum alloy and carbon steel substrate, thereby optimizing the mechanical properties and corrosive resistance of HEA thin films. The (Al0.5 CrFeNiTi0.25 )Nx HEA nitride films achieved higher hardness and Young’s modulus than as-cast (Al0.5 CrFeNiTi0.25 )Nx bulk alloys [35] These results indicated that HEA films have potential application on protective coatings to improve the hardness and corrosion resistance of knives and cutting tools. Our data show that with increasing RN , the film’s performance indicators, surface color, and roughness could be changed
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