Excimer laser surface alloying of titanium with nickel and palladium for increased corrosion resistance

In the electron beam treatment of flue gases, titanium foil is employed as an electron-transparent window. Due to its degradation in the flue gas environment and eventual failure, extension of the life of the window is being sought. Previous studies have indicated significant improvements of corrosion resistance from surface alloying with nickel or palladium, using high intensity pulsed plasma beams, but restricted size of vacuum systems prevents treatment of large surfaces. In the present work, an excimer laser was employed to surface alloy titanium foil with nickel or palladium, using fluences in the range 0.4-1.1 J cm−2 and either nitrogen or argon as the cover gas. The resultant surfaces provided high resistance to corrosion in 0.1 M H2SO4 solution at 80 °C that simulates, under accelerated conditions, the degradation of titanium by the flue gas. The improved behaviour is associated with the corrosion potential being shifted to the region of passivity. Treatments at increased fluences reduced losses of nickel and increased alloying of palladium during processing of the foils. Palladium was largely retained during the subsequent immersion tests, contrasting with the depletion of nickel by corrosion that limits the durability of the treated foils. The corrosion rates of the optimum palladium-alloyed surfaces were about two orders of magnitude lower than that of untreated titanium.