Effect of Ti Addition and Heat Treatment on Electrochemical Properties of Cast Fe35Mn31Ni18Al13Tix HEAs

Abstract High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) are one of the new families of alloys that gained the attention of researchers as a new approach to materials design. The special compositional design of these alloys results in unique microstructures and hence distinguished properties. Corrosion resistance is one of the most important properties of any material used for structural components. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the electrochemical properties of such recent groups of HEAs alloys to understand their corrosion behavior. In the current study, the electrochemical properties of cast Fe 35 Mn 31 Ni 18 Al 13 Ti x HEAs prepared by induction melting were investigated in 3.5% NaCl and 5% H 2 SO 4 solutions. It was observed that both Ti addition (0.0–3 wt%) and heat treatment (900 °C at 10 and 20 h) altered the alloys microstructure and, hence, affected their corrosion behavior. The base alloy without Ti showed higher resistance to corrosion in both NaCl and H 2 SO 4 solutions compared to Ti-containing alloys. Heat treatment for 10 h increased significantly the corrosion resistance of the as-cast alloys regardless of the Ti content. On the other hand, heat treatment for 20 h affected negatively the corrosion resistance of the alloy without Ti. Therefore, the electrochemical properties of HEAs can be well controlled through alloying additives and heat treatment.