Journal of Materials Research and Technology (Jul 2024)
Microstructure, wear resistance and antibacterial behaviors of novel CoCrFeNiCeX high entropy alloys
Abstract
In this work, a series of CoCrFeNiCeX (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were designed and prepared through vacuum induction melting. The microstructure, wear resistance and antibacterial behaviors of the HEAs were systematically investigated. The results showed that the HEAs are composed of FCC phase with dendrite structure and CeNi3 phase between dendrites. With the increase of Ce content, the mechanical property and antibacterial rate of the alloys was improved gradually. Due to the combined effect of CeNi3 phase and fine grain strengthening, the CoCrFeNiCe0.5 HEA exhibited high hardness of approximately 382 HV0.2 and the wear rate of only 1.11 × 10−4 mm3/N·m under the loading force of 5 N. The CoCrFeNiCe0.5 HEA also showed excellent antibacterial ability, which presented a 97.4% antibacterial rate against Escherichia coli and 89.6% antibacterial rate against Staphylococcus aureus after 3 days. This work provided a new strategy for designing a high performance alloy with excellent antibacterial behaviors and good wear resistance, which makes it meet the needs of long-term antibacterial application in harsh environments.