Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion behaviors of CoCrFeNiAl 0.3 High Entropy Alloy (HEA) films

Abstract

The HEA-CoCrFeNiAl 0.3 thin film in this study has been successfully developed by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering to meet the increasing demand in engineering applications. Its microstructure and surface profile were investigated accordingly. The as-synthesized HEA film was found to have a homogeneous element distribution and ultra-smooth surface, exhibiting a typical face-centered cubic (FCC) solid solution. The film showed better mechanical properties than its bulk counterpart, with a Young's modulus and hardness of ~201.4 GPa and ~11.5 GPa, respectively. Furthermore, corrosion tests demonstrated decreased sensitivity to localized corrosion in comparison to the commercial 304 stainless steel in NaCl solution.