Phase, mechanical property and corrosion resistance evaluation of W-Nb-Ta-Ti and W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N medium entropy alloy thin films

Multicomponent alloy thin films including high entropy alloy (HEA) and medium entropy alloy (MEA) thin films have drawn lots of attention from researchers and industries because of their outstanding properties, such as high hardness, good wear and corrosion resistance. Among several kinds of multicomponent alloy systems, the refractory HEA and MEA are characterized by their high temperature strength and stable thermal properties. In this work, the W-Nb-Ta-Ti and W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N refractory MEA thin films were fabricated by a magnetron co-sputtering system. The structure of W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N coatings changed from BCC to B1 FCC nitride phase when the nitrogen concentration reached 42.6 at.%. The microstructure of BCC structured W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N thin films changed from a coarse columnar to a dense feature as the nitrogen content increased from 0 to 16.2 at.%. A maximum hardness of 24.4 GPa was obtained for the BCC structured W34.3Nb21.7Ta26.4Ti1.4N16.2 thin film. The best adhesion property and the lowest coefficient of friction were found for the FCC W31.1Nb9.6Ta13.1Ti3.6N42.6 nitride thin film. The corrosion resistance of 304SS substrate in 5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution was greatly enhanced by the deposition of the W-Nb-Ta-Ti and W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N refractory MEA thin films. The best corrosion resistance can be seen for the nitrogen-free W37.9Nb25.8Ta28.8Ti7.5 thin film due to its dense microstructure, highest Ta and Nb contents, high configurational entropy and sluggish diffusion effects.

Automated summary

This study fabricated refractory MEA thin films of W-Nb-Ta-Ti and W-Nb-Ta-Ti-N, and demonstrated how the structure and microstructure of the films can be controlled by adjusting the nitrogen concentration. The films exhibited varying hardness, adhesion properties, friction coefficients, and corrosion resistance.