Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy

Nanostructured multilayer anticorrosion coatings offer an effective strategy to mitigate the poor corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys and extend their service life. In this study, four types of Ti/Cr multilayer coatings with varied modulation periods along the growth direction were deposited on...

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Main Authors: Kang Chen, Tao He, Xiangyang Du, Alexey Vereschaka, Catherine Sotova, Yang Ding, Jian Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Inorganics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/7/242
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author Kang Chen
Tao He
Xiangyang Du
Alexey Vereschaka
Catherine Sotova
Yang Ding
Jian Li
author_facet Kang Chen
Tao He
Xiangyang Du
Alexey Vereschaka
Catherine Sotova
Yang Ding
Jian Li
author_sort Kang Chen
collection DOAJ
description Nanostructured multilayer anticorrosion coatings offer an effective strategy to mitigate the poor corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys and extend their service life. In this study, four types of Ti/Cr multilayer coatings with varied modulation periods along the growth direction were deposited on 7050 aluminum alloy substrates using direct current magnetron sputtering. The cross-sectional microstructure of the coatings was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while their mechanical and corrosion properties were systematically evaluated through nanoindentation and electrochemical measurements. The influence of modulation period distribution on the corrosion resistance of Ti/Cr multilayers was thoroughly investigated. The results show that the average thickness of the Ti/Cr multilayer coatings is 680 nm, the structure is dense, and the coarse columnar crystals are not seen. All Ti/Cr multilayer coatings significantly reduced the corrosion current density of 7050 aluminum alloy by about 10 times compared with that of the substrate, showing good protective effect. Modulation period along the coating growth direction decreases the Ti/Cr multilayer coating surface heterogeneous interface density increases, inhibits the formation of corrosion channels, hindering the penetration of corrosive media, and the other three coatings and aluminum alloy compared to its corrosion surface did not see obvious pore corrosion, showing the most excellent corrosion resistance.
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institution DOAJ
issn 2304-6740
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Inorganics
spelling doaj-art-fac596b4e34e4b0eb3b04b1590d6832e2025-08-20T03:07:58ZengMDPI AGInorganics2304-67402025-07-0113724210.3390/inorganics13070242Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum AlloyKang Chen0Tao He1Xiangyang Du2Alexey Vereschaka3Catherine Sotova4Yang Ding5Jian Li6School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, ChinaInstitute of Design and Technological Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 127994 Moscow, RussiaDepartment of High-Efficiency Machining Technologies, Moscow State University of Technology “STANKIN”, 127055 Moscow, RussiaSchool of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, ChinaNanostructured multilayer anticorrosion coatings offer an effective strategy to mitigate the poor corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys and extend their service life. In this study, four types of Ti/Cr multilayer coatings with varied modulation periods along the growth direction were deposited on 7050 aluminum alloy substrates using direct current magnetron sputtering. The cross-sectional microstructure of the coatings was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while their mechanical and corrosion properties were systematically evaluated through nanoindentation and electrochemical measurements. The influence of modulation period distribution on the corrosion resistance of Ti/Cr multilayers was thoroughly investigated. The results show that the average thickness of the Ti/Cr multilayer coatings is 680 nm, the structure is dense, and the coarse columnar crystals are not seen. All Ti/Cr multilayer coatings significantly reduced the corrosion current density of 7050 aluminum alloy by about 10 times compared with that of the substrate, showing good protective effect. Modulation period along the coating growth direction decreases the Ti/Cr multilayer coating surface heterogeneous interface density increases, inhibits the formation of corrosion channels, hindering the penetration of corrosive media, and the other three coatings and aluminum alloy compared to its corrosion surface did not see obvious pore corrosion, showing the most excellent corrosion resistance.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/7/242aluminum alloycoatingcorrosion resistancemagnetron sputtering
spellingShingle Kang Chen
Tao He
Xiangyang Du
Alexey Vereschaka
Catherine Sotova
Yang Ding
Jian Li
Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
Inorganics
aluminum alloy
coating
corrosion resistance
magnetron sputtering
title Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
title_full Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
title_fullStr Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
title_full_unstemmed Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
title_short Corrosion Resistance of Ti/Cr Gradient Modulation Period Nanomultilayer Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on 7050 Aluminum Alloy
title_sort corrosion resistance of ti cr gradient modulation period nanomultilayer coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering on 7050 aluminum alloy
topic aluminum alloy
coating
corrosion resistance
magnetron sputtering
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/7/242
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