Characterization of borided Incoloy 825 alloy

•Boronizing was not previously applied to Incoloy 825 alloy.•Characterization of the coating layer that occurred with boronizing is investigated.•The boron layer thickness increased by increasing of the time and temperature.

Incoloy 825 alloy is an alloy with high corrosion resistance but it has low strength and hardness. Increasing of hardness of the alloy is important for its wear resistance. In this study, Incoloy 825 alloy was boronized to increase its hardness. The boronizing process was carried out using the box boronizing method at 900 and 950 °C for 2, 4 and 6 h. The coating thickness that occurred by boronizing increased with the increase in temperature and time. The thickness of boride layers depending on temperature and process time was ranged from 35 to 170 μm. The presence of borides (e.g., FeB, Fe2B, CrB, NiB) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis technique. The boron compounds have shown the random distribution. The microhardness has decreased along the coating thickness (towards to the matrix).