Effect of Chromium Addition on the Cyclic Oxidation Resistance of Pseudo-Binary (Mo,Cr)3 Si Silicide Alloy

This paper describes the performance under cyclic oxidation of (Mo,Cr) Si compound with different Cr additions for possible coating application. Cyclic oxidation was carried out at 1,000 °C at different intervals during 250 h. Oxidized surface samples were analysed by scanning electron microscope where epitaxial oxide scales were observed mainly in samples with higher Cr content which may provide protection against surface oxidation. X-ray diffraction studies have shown the Cr and SiO formation as the main oxide scale; after analyses, it was found that these oxides are responsible for the best oxidation protection, with 36 at.% Cr being the optimal chromium concentration. At lower chromium concentrations, pest reaction occurred in the oxidized samples at times less than 25 h as a result of the formation of the unstable molybdenum oxide.