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🤝 Collaborative Paper

Microstructure and tribocorrosion properties of TiZrNbTaFe, TiZrNbTaFeC, and TiZrNbTaFeCN high entropy alloy coatings

Tribology International, 214 (2026) 111345 (Elsevier) | DOI: 10.1016/j.triboint.2025.111345
Authors：Ismail Rahmadtulloh, Chaur-Jeng Wang, Bih-Show Lou, Chia-Lin Li, Igamcha Moirangthem, Krishnakant Tiwari, Chen-Hao Wang, and Jyh-Wei Lee*

📄 Abstract

High entropy alloy (HEA) coatings were prepared using high power impulse magnetron sputtering and medium-frequency sputtering. Three TiZrNbTaFe (HEA), TiZrNbTaFeC (HEAC), and TiZrNbTaFeCN (HEACN) coatings were studied. HEA and HEAC exhibited amorphous structures, while HEACN had an FCC crystal structure. In 3.5% NaCl, HEAC showed corrosion resistance 25.6× greater than 304SS. HEAC exhibited lower coefficient of friction (0.33 dry, 0.24 tribocorrosion) due to carbon-induced lubricating effect. HEACN showed the best tribocorrosion resistance with lowest total loss of 17.1 mm/yr, owing to its high hardness of 21.4 GPa.

🔬 Five Key Findings

1
HEAC corrosion resistance 25.6× greater than 304SS in 3.5% NaCl solution.
2
HEACN best tribocorrosion resistance: lowest total loss of 17.1 mm/yr (hardness 21.4 GPa).
3
Carbon-induced lubricating effect: HEAC coefficient of friction reduced to 0.24 under tribocorrosion.
4
Structure–property: amorphous HEA/HEAC vs. FCC HEACN — structure determines wear–corrosion synergy.
5
Corrosion dominates synergistic damage: synergistic components 15.2, 14.4, 12.5 mm/yr for HEA, HEAC, HEACN.

📊 Key Figures

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the reciprocating ball-on-flat tribocorrosion test setup, illustrating the electrochemical cell configuration and loading arrangement.
Figure 2: Open circuit potential (OCP) measurements during tribocorrosion testing, showing the potential evolution under sliding contact in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution.