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🤝 Collaborative Paper

Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance evaluation of nanocomposite AlCrNbSiTiBCN high entropy alloy coatings fabricated using superimposed HiPIMS-MF system: Effect of B contents

Surfaces and Interfaces, 64 (2025) 106435 (Elsevier) | DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2025.106435
Authors：Igamcha Moirangthem, Chaur-Jeng Wang, Bih-Show Lou, Ismail Rahmadtulloh, Krishnakant Tiwari, Chen-Hao Wang, and Jyh-Wei Lee* (Corresponding Author)

📄 Abstract

In this study, a superimposed HiPIMS-MF system was used to fabricate five nanocomposite AlCrNbSiTiBCN high entropy alloy nitride coatings with varying B contents. The coatings exhibited a nanocomposite microstructure consisting of nano-sized FCC metal nitride phases with small amounts of carbide and carbonitrides embedded in the amorphous matrix. The hardness decreased from 19.9 to 15.9 GPa with increasing B content due to the formation of an amorphous BN matrix. All coatings showed excellent corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, with polarization resistance values 16 to 37 times higher than the bare AISI304 stainless steel substrate. This study successfully developed promising hard and anticorrosion AlCrNbSiTiBCN HEA nitride coatings.

🔬 Five Key Findings

1
HiPIMS-MF coating technique: Superimposed high power impulse magnetron sputtering with mid-frequency pulses successfully fabricated nanocomposite AlCrNbSiTiBCN HEA nitride coatings.
2
Hardness range: 19.9–15.9 GPa, decreasing with increasing B content due to amorphous BN matrix formation.
3
Wear resistance: Wear rates ranged from 1.1×10⁻⁵ to 6.1×10⁻⁵ mm³N⁻¹m⁻¹; highest B content showed significant increase to 1.8×10⁻⁴ mm³N⁻¹m⁻¹.
4
Excellent corrosion resistance: Polarization resistance 16–37× higher than bare AISI304 stainless steel substrate in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution.
5
Application potential: This study developed hard and anticorrosion HEA coatings suitable for surface modification of advanced engineered applications.

📊 Key Figures

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the deposition system.
Figure 2: Temporal evolutions of target voltage and current waveforms of HiPIMS and MF of Al4Cr2NbSiTi2 target during deposition of TB-0 and TB-700 samples.