The Design and Preparation of New Fe(21-x)CoNiCuAlTix High-Entropy-Alloy Wear- and Corrosion-Resistant Coatings and an Investigation of Their Performance

The purpose of this study is to prepare new Fe(21-x)CoNiCuAlTix alloy coatings and to investigate the phase composition, microstructure, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of these high-entropy-alloy coatings with varying Ti content. High-entropy Fe(21-x)CoNiCuAlTix (x = 0; 2; 4; 6; 8) alloy coatings were prepared on 65Mn steel substrates via laser cladding. The results showed that the addition of Ti promoted the formation of the BCC phase, which increased the hardness of the coatings and improved their wear resistance due to the hardening of the solid solution and grain refinement. The microhardness of the coating was 689.08HV0.2 at x = 8, 2.056 times that of the base metal, and the wear resistance was 2.565 × 10−7 g/(N·m). The corrosion potential and corrosion current density were −0.199 V and 3.513 × 10−7 A/cm2, respectively, indicating excellent corrosion resistance. The addition of titanium significantly enhanced the formation of the BCC phase, improved the microstructure through solid-solution hardening and grain refinement, and caused lattice distortion. These effects, as well as the formation of solid bonds, significantly improved the wear and corrosion resistance of the coatings.