Fabrication and wear performance of Al0.8FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy coating on magnesium alloy by resistance seam welding

•The Al0.8FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy coating was fabricated on magnesium alloy by resistance seam welding method.•The coating consisted of the face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic structures.•The coating exhibited good wear resistance in dry and deionized water conditions. The Al0.8FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy coating (HEAc) was firstly fabricated on magnesium alloy by resistance seam welding (RESW) method. During welding, the Joule heating effect transformed the nanocrystalline HEA powder into a HEAc consisted of the face-centered cubic (FCC) and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures. The elements were homogeneously distributed and magnesium was found in the gap of HEAc. The wear properties of HEAc were studied systematically in dry, deionized water and 3.5 wt% NaCl solution conditions. Compared to AZ31, the HEAc exhibited good wear-resistance in dry and deionized water conditions.