Improving the corrosion resistance and mechanical property of 45 steel surface by laser cladding with Ni60CuMoW alloy powder

► Ni60CuMoW composite coatings were fabricated by hybrid laser cladding. ► The solidification process and microstructure of coatings can be controlled. ► The coatings improved the substrate microhardness by 5.17, 4.90 and 4.89 times. ► The coatings increased the substrate Ecorr by 136.2 mV and 437.6 mV. ► The coatings decreased the substrate Icorr by two and one orders of magnitude, respectively.