Corrosion Resistance of Al<i>_x</i>CoCrFeNiM (M = Ti, V, Si, Mn, Cu) High Entropy Alloys in NaCl and H₂SO₄ Solutions

Abstract

The electrochemical behavior of as-cast AlxCoCrFeNiM (M = Ti, V, Si, Mn, Cu) high entropy alloys (HEAs) in 1 M NaCl and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions is studied. Polarization measurements were carried out in a standard three-electrode electrochemical cell with a platinum auxiliary electrode using a P-30J potentiostat device. The potentials were measured relative to a saturated silver chloride reference electrode EVL-1M3 at room temperature (25 °C) with a sweep rate of 5 mV/s. It is shown that despite a wide passivation region, Al0.5CoCrFeNi1.6Ti0.7 HEA undergoes significant corrosion in both sodium chloride and sulfuric acid solutions and exhibits low corrosion potential and current density. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed that Ti-containing eutectic areas are the most susceptible regions to corrosion. Intergranular corrosion was found in Al0.25CoCrFeNiMn and Al0.25CoCrFeNiCu HEAs. Moreover, Al0.25CoCrFeNiCu possesses the smallest passivation interval ΔE among all the investigated HEAs. For samples with Ti, Mn, and Cu, a protective film layer is not formed on the surface of the phases enriched in these elements, or it is brittle and crumbles. For samples with Si and V, a passivating film is formed. Thus, Al0.45CoCrFeNiSi0.45 and Al0.25CoCrFeNiV HEAs exhibited the highest resistance in 1 M NaCl and 0.5 M H2SO4 corrosive environments, respectively.

Keywords

• high entropy alloys
• corrosion resistance
• polarization
• electrochemical behavior