Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of high hardness TiVZrCrAl HEA coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering

The TiVZrCrAl high entropy alloy (HEA) coatings with different deposition temperatures were prepared on Zr-4 alloys by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) technology. The effect of the deposition temperature on the microstructure and mechanical performance of the coatings was studied. In addition, the corrosion properties of the coating deposited at 300 °C were tested in static pure water at 320 °C and 11.3 MPa for 45 days. The mechanism for the corrosion progress of the TiVZrCrAl HEA coating was assessed in detail. The result shows that AlVO4 formation is beneficial to prevent the dissolution of Al in the form of AlOOH, and finally enhance the anti-corrosion properties of the Zr-4 substrate. •TiVZrCrAl coating has a high hardness of 18.28GPa.•Severe lattice distortion resulted in the high hardness of coatings.•TiVZrCrAl coating own an excellent high-temperature corrosion resistance.•The formation of AlVO4 can effectively restrain the dissolution of Al.