Electrochemical deposition and microstructural characterization of AlCrFeMnNi and AlCrCuFeMnNi high entropy alloy thin films

Abstract Al–Cr–Fe–Mn–Ni and Al–Cr–Cu–Fe–Mn–Ni high entropy alloy thin films were prepared by potentiostatic electrodeposition and the microstructure of the deposits was investigated. The thin films were co-deposited in an electrolyte based on a DMF (N,N-dimethylformamide)-CH 3 CN (acetonitrile) organic compound. The energy dispersive spectrometry investigation (EDS) indicated that all the five respectively six elements were successfully co-deposited. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the film consists of compact and uniform particles with particle sizes of 500 nm to 4 μm. The X-ray diffractometry (XRD) patterns indicated that the as-deposited thin films were amorphous. Body-centered-cubic (BCC) structures were identified by XRD after the films were annealed at various temperatures under inert Ar atmosphere. The alloys adhesion on the substrate was determined by the scratch-testing method, with higher values obtained for the Al–Cr–Cu–Fe–Mn–Ni alloy.