Corrosion behavior of TiZrNiCuBe metallic glass coatings synthesized by electrospark deposition

• A thick TiZrNiCuBe amorphous coating was successfully deposited on 304L.
• The amorphous coating showed superior corrosion resistance in HNO3.
• The heterogeneous surface structure deteriorated the corrosion resistance.
• The coating will find a wide range of applications in corrosive environments.

Electrospark deposition was applied to successfully deposit TiZrNiCuBe metallic glass coating on 304L stainless steel. The coating was fully amorphous with the thickness of ∼380 μm. The corrosion behavior was investigated in 1, 6 and 11.5 mol/L HNO3. The optimal corrosion resistance was achieved in 6 mol/L HNO3 for the coating. The corrosion mechanism was discussed based on the effect of the structural heterogeneity on the corrosion resistance. It was found that the heterogeneous surface structure deteriorated the corrosion resistance. We believe that the coating will find a wide range of applications for protecting working parks in corrosive environments.