Passive film and surface characterization of Alx(CoCrFeNi)100-x (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20) high entropy alloys

Abstract

The current research on the corrosion resistance of high entropy alloys (HEAs), mainly focuses on the influence of element composition and percentage difference. Considering the almost consistent passivation range with different corrosion resistance contributed by element addition, it inevitably exists obvious differences the passive film properties. The effect of passive film on corrosion behavior of HEA is worthy to be investigated in detail. Considering the microstructure transformation detected by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) and surface feedback effect measured by approach curve of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), the passivity of Alx(CoCrFeNi)100-x (x = 0–20) HEAs in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution has been investigated by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Mott-Schottky analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results demonstrate that the passive film is thick and dense at low Al content (5%), which shows excellent corrosion resistance. However, with the increase of Al content, the corrosion resistance of passive film deteriorates gradually. XPS are adopted to detect film composition to explain the reason of film property change. The results suggest that there are more oxidized states of Al and less oxidized states of Cr in the passive film of HEAs with Al addition. The dominate semiconductor characteristics of Alx(CoCrFeNi)100-x with Al addition change from p-type to n-type. All results indicate that the addition of Al has a significantly influence on the composition and properties of passive film on the Alx(CoCrFeNi)100-x alloys surface.