The corrosion behavior of Fe–10Cr nanocrystalline coating

Fe–10Cr nanocrystalline (nc) coatings with a grain size of 20–30 nm were synthesized on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering. The corrosion behavior was investigated in 0.05 mol/L H2SO4 + 0.25 mol/L Na2SO4 and 0.05 mol/L H2SO4 + 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution by polarization curves, EIS and Mott–Schottky analysis. The results showed that compared to Fe–10Cr cast alloy, the active dissolution of the coating was accelerated; the passive film contained more Cr and therefore the coating was easier to passivate. The passive films formed on Fe–10Cr nc and cast alloy exhibited n-type semiconducting behavior in acidic solutions without Cl− and p-type semiconducting behavior in acidic solutions with Cl−. The lower breakdown potential for both materials in the solution with Cl− is related to the p-type passive film formed on them. For Fe–10Cr nc, lower donor density and increased Cr content were responsible for the chemical stability of the passive film.