Microstructures and properties of the high-entropy alloy coating fabricated by laser cladding

Abstract

FeMnNiCrCu0.5 high-entropy alloy (HEA) coating was prepared on the C45 steel by laser cladding. Constituent phase, microstructure and chemical composition of the coating was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The microhardness and corrosion resistance of the coating are also studied. Results showed that the HEA coating reveals a good metallurgical bonding to the substrate, and they consist of the heat-affected zone, bonding zone and cladding zone. The microstructure of the coating showed a typical dendrite crystal growing from the substrate. FeMnNiCrCu0.5 coating was composed a single face-center cubic (FCC) phase, and the surface hardness of the coating is 195 HV0.2. In 0.5M H2SO4 solution, the coating has better corrosion resistance than the substrate, which allows the HEA coating to be used as an anti-corrosion coating in engineering applications.