Application of High-throughput Preparation Technology Based on Multi-target Co-sputtering and Masking in Multi-base Element Alloys

Xuehui Yan, Yong Zhang*

Beijing Advanced Innovation Center of Materials Genome Engineering, State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

ABSTRACT: The development of alloys shows a trend of increasing chemical complexity over time. In other words, materials are gradually developed from the initial simple system to multiple components. Different from the development of amorphous in the 1960s, dynamics and processing control are no longer the key factors, but the composition and entropy regulation are the key issues for developing multi-component alloys. In recent years, many new alloys with promising properties are likely to be discovered near the centers (as opposed to the corners) of phase diagrams, which no longer contain a single major component, but multiple major elements and form a concentrated solid-solution structure. Here, medium-entropy and high-entropy alloys with concentrated solid-solution structure are preferably to be referred as multi-base element (MBE) alloys. Compared with traditional alloys, the composition design of MBE alloys is more complex and diverse. In this case, high-throughput preparation technology is an effective way to solve this issue.

In this work, a high-throughput method of multi-target co-sputtering combined with physical masking was designed, which has been successfully applied to the parallel preparation of Al-Cr-Fe-Ni-Ti and Zr-Ti-Nb MBE alloys. The preliminary screening of phase structure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance were also performed. In particular, we have designed a ternary multi-principal Zr alloy with body-centered cubic (bcc) solid solution structure by high-throughput technology. Based on the preliminary screening, the optimal composition (Zr₅₀Ti₃₅Nb₁₅) was selected and subsequently investigated in detail. Results show that the Zr₅₀Ti₃₅Nb₁₅ alloy displays a unique combination of high yield strength, good tensile ductility, and excellent corrosion resistance (E_corr=422 mV, I_pit=0.33 μA/cm²). The outstanding mechanical performances and corrosion resistance of this alloy make it a potential material for engineering and biomedical applications. In subsequent work, a novel MBE alloy with a unique combination of mechanical and functional performances can be obtained by microalloying. This work not only offers a high-throughput preparation method of MBE alloys, but also provides a general idea for the development of MBE alloys with specific properties.

Keywords: High-entropy alloys, High-throughput preparation, Physical masking, Zirconium

* Corresponding author: drzhangy@ustb.edu.cn