Microgravimetric corrosion study of magnetron-sputtered Co-Cr-Mo and Ni-Cr-Mo alloys in an oxygen-containing atmosphere

Abstract

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) has been used for in situ corrosion studies of magnetron-sputtered Co-Cr-Mo and Ni-Cr-Mo alloys, which are of great importance in various technical and medical applications. The corrosion monitoring has been performed in an oxygen-containing atmosphere and in NaCl solution. The alloys were deposited on quartz substrates by means of DC magnetron sputtering. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the composition of the deposits was similar to that of the magnetron-sputtering targets. X-ray diffraction revealed an amorphous structure of the sputtered deposits, while the casting alloys had a crystalline structure. The polarization resistance of sputtered alloys in NaCl solution was higher than the activity of conventional alloys, which implied a superior corrosion resistance of the sputtered deposits. Corrosion was initiated by supplying oxygen gas into a wet argon atmosphere and the QCM detected corrosion with nanogram resolution as the increase in mass. Corrosion currents were calculated from the mass versus time curves. The QCM appeared to be an effective tool for corrosive characterization of sputtered alloys in gaseous environments. A corrosion current calculation in solution was complicated by metal transfer to the liquid phase.