Microstructure and corrosion properties of CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy coating

Equimolar CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy (HEA) is one of the most notable single phase multi-component alloys up-to-date with promising mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. However, the study on the corrosion behavior of CrMnFeCoNi HEA coating has still been lacking. In this paper, HEA coating with a nominal composition of CrMnFeCoNi is fabricated by laser surface alloying and studied in detail. Microstructure and chemical composition are determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are used to investigate the corrosion behavior. The coating forms a simple FCC phase with an identical dendritic structure composed of Fe/Co/Ni-rich dendrites and Mn/Ni-rich interdendrites. Both in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution and 0.5 M sulfuric acid the coating exhibits nobler corrosion resistance than A36 steel substrate and even lower icorr than 304 stainless steel (304SS). EIS plots coupled with fitted parameters reveal that a spontaneous protective film is formed and developed during immersion in 0.5 M sulfuric acid. The fitted Rt value reaches its maximum at 24 h during a 48 h’ immersion test, indicating the passive film starts to break down after that. EDS analysis conducted on a corroded surface immersed in 0.5 M H2SO4 reveals that corrosion starts from Cr-depleted interdendrites.