Improving cyclic oxidation resistance of Ni3Al-based single crystal superalloy with low-diffusion platinum-modified aluminide coating

A low-diffusion NiRePtAl coating ((Ni,Pt)Al outer layer in addition to a Re-rich diffusion barrier layer) was prepared on a Ni3Al-base single crystal (SC) superalloy via electroplating and gaseous aluminizing treatments, wherein the electroplating procedures consisted of the composite deposition of Ni-Re followed by electroplating of Pt. In order to perform a comparison with conventional NiAl and (Ni,Pt)Al coatings, the cyclic oxidation performance of the NiRePtAl coating was evaluated at 1100 and 1150 degrees C. We observed that the oxidation resistance of the NiRePtAl coating was significantly improved by the greater presence of the residual beta-NiAl phase in the outer layer and the lesser outward-diffusion of Mo from the substrate. In addition, the coating with the Re-rich diffusion barrier demonstrated a lower extent of interdiffusion into the substrate, where the thickness of the second reaction zone (SRZ) in the substrate alloy decreased by 25 %. The mechanisms responsible for improving the oxidation resistance and decreasing the extent of SRZ formation are discussed, in which a particular attention is paid to the inhibition of the outward diffusion of Mo by the Re-based diffusion barrier. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.