Effect of Ni Addition on the Corrosion Resistance of NiTi Alloy Coatings on AISI 316L Substrate Prepared by Laser Cladding

In this paper, an equiatomic NiTi (55NiTi) alloy powder was mixed with pure Ni powder to prepare laser cladding coatings on a 316L stainless steel substrate to study the effect of Ni addition on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the coatings. The microstructure and phase composition of the coatings were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with configured energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). OCP (open-circuit potential), PD (potentiodynamic polarization) and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) experiments were conducted by a Gamry electrochemical workstation, and corresponding eroded morphologies were observed to evaluate the coating's anti-corrosion performance. The addition of Ni led to fine and uniform dendrites and dense microstructure under the metallurgical microscope, which were beneficial for the formation of the passive film mainly consisting of titanium dioxide (TiO2). The results show that the pitting potential of the 55NiTi + 5Ni coating was 0.11 V nobler than that of the 55NiTi coating, and the corrosion current density was less than half that of the 55NiTi coating. The corrosion initiated preferentially at the interfaces of dendrites and inter-dendritic areas, then spread first to dendrites rather than in the inter-dendritic areas.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of Ni addition on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of NiTi coatings prepared on a 316L stainless steel substrate. The addition of Ni led to the formation of fine dendrites and a dense microstructure, promoting the formation of a passive film mainly composed of titanium dioxide. The results demonstrated that the Ni addition improved the corrosion performance of the coatings, with higher pitting potential and lower corrosion current density compared to coatings without Ni addition.