Abstract
We examined high entropy (HE) effect on the formation, structure, thermal stability, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior for (Fe,Co,Ni,Cr)100-xBx (x = 18–26) amorphous alloys in comparison with Fe100-xBx amorphous alloys. The as-quenched structure consists of an amorphous single phase for the 18–24%B alloys, and amorphous + tetragonal Cr5B3 phases for the 26%B alloy. The broad diffraction peak position due to amorphous phase shifts to a higher wave vector side with increasing B content for the HE alloys, while that of the Fe-B alloys changes to the lower wave vector side, indicating the distinct difference in disordered atomic structure between the HE alloys and the binary alloys. All the as-spun HEA ribbons exhibit good bending ductility in spite of the coexistence with their crystalline phases, being different from the brittle nature for the 26%B binary alloy. The crystallization temperature (Tx) and Vickers hardness (Hv) increase with increasing B content, show maximum values of 803 K and 1130, respectively, at 22%B and then decrease to 793 K and 1070, respectively at 26%B, being different from the nearly constant Tx and almost linear increase in Hv with increasing B content for the Fe100-xBx alloys. The corrosion resistance in NaCl, H2SO4 and HCl solutions evaluated by potential and anode current density is much better for the HE alloys as compared with the Fe-B alloys. Thus, the Tx, Hv, bending ductility and corrosion resistance for the HE amorphous alloys containing more than 20 at%B are much superior to those for the Fe-B amorphous alloys. The fully crystallized structure consists of fcc + FeB + Fe2B + Cr5B3 phase for the HE 22–26 at%B alloys and bcc-Fe + Fe2B for the Fe-B alloys. The significant improvement of the fundamental properties caused by the HE component modification is presumably due to the formation of Cr-B pair with higher B-rich components. The improved properties in conjunction with the change in the disordered structure for the HE amorphous alloys provide an opportunity of developing a new functional material by alloy design to HE type compositions.
•Control and design of spontaneous generation of inhomogeneity of alloy components and atomic configurations.•The high entropy alloys exhibit good bending ductility over the whole B range.•The Hv of the high entropy alloys shows a maximum of 1130 at 20 at%B.•The corrosion resistance in NaCl, H2SO4 and HCl solutions is significantly enhanced.