Effect of interstitial carbides on tribological properties of Co21Cr21Fe21Ni21V14.5C1.5 high entropy alloy at elevated temperature

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) with high wear resistance at elevated temperatures are desired for applications like turbine engine blades and internal combustion engines. By reducing the proportion of transition metal elements, the interstitial carbide in the form of doped non-metallic element C can reduce the preparation cost of HEA and improve its mechanical properties. The effect of 1.5 at% carbon doping at different sintering temperatures on microstructure, mechanical properties, and high-temperature tribological behavior was systematically investigated. The compressive strength and strain rate of C-doped HEAs sintered at 1200 °C were 969 ± 21 MPa, 8.43 ± 0.36%, which was improved by solution strengthening and carbide pegging dislocations. The wear mechanisms of C0 alloy at high-temperature are mainly oxidation wear, adhesion wear and delamination wear, while the wear mechanism of C10 alloy is mainly abrasive wear, adhesion wear, fatigue wear and oxidation wear. The combined effect of VC, M23C6 and M7C3 carbides and σ phase plays the role of anti-wear lubrication at RT∼800 °C, and the tribo-chemical reaction generates Cr2O3, NiCr2O4, NiO, and other compounds with high-temperature stability and oxidation resistance to form a thin dense oxide glaze layer, resulting in better anti-wear and friction reduction performance of C-doped alloy than undoped alloy.