A Lightweight AlCrTiV0.5Cux High-Entropy Alloy with Excellent Corrosion Resistance

Abstract

Lightweight high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a new class of low-density, high strength-to-weight ratio metallic structural material. Understanding their corrosion behavior is crucial for designing microstructures for their practical applications. This work investigates the electrochemical corrosion behavior of lightweight HEAs AlCrTiV0.5Cux (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. These HEAs were produced by vacuum arc melting. In contrast to 304L stainless steel, all of the alloys exhibited lower current density levels caused by self-corrosion, with AlCrTiV0.5 demonstrating the highest corrosion resistance (0.131 μA/cm2). Corrosion resistance decreased along with the content of copper because copper segregation accelerated local corrosion throughout the alloy.