Mechanical and electrochemical properties of Zr and Zr-Er alloyed layers deposited on titanium alloy (TC11)

In this paper, Zr and Zr-Er alloyed layers were deposited onto the TC11 alloy by using double-glow plasma surface alloying technique. Microstructure analysis showed that Zr and Zr-Er alloyed layers were both well bonded to the substrate without defects of porosity and cracks. Nanoindentation test reflected that Zr and Zr-Er alloyed layers not only possessed high hardness but also had good elastic property. The electrochemical behavior of Zr and Zr-Er alloyed layers was comparatively investigated by using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a 10 wt.% HCl solution. The results presented that the changing trend of the sample's corrosion resistance increased in the following sequence: TC11 substrate < Zr alloyed layer < Zr-Er alloyed layer, which indicated that the corrosion resistance of the Zr alloyed layer can be improved by the incorporation of Er.