Robust Tribo-mechanical and Hot Corrosion Resistance of Ultra-refractory Ta-Hf-C Ternary Alloy Films

In this work we report the hot corrosion properties of binary and ternary films of the Ta-Hf-C system in VO-NaSO (50%wt.-50%wt.) molten salts at 700 °C deposited on AISI D3 steel substrates. Additionally, the mechanical and nanowear properties of the films were studied. The results show that the ternary alloys consist of solid solutions of the TaC and HfC binary carbides. The ternary alloy films have higher hardness and elastic recoveries, reaching 26.2 GPa and 87%, respectively, and lower nanowear when compared to the binary films. The corrosion rates of the ternary alloys have a superior behavior compared to the binary films, with corrosion rates as low as 0.058 μm/year. The combination and tunability of high hardness, elastic recovery, low nanowear and an excellent resistance to high temperature corrosion demonstrates the potential of the ternary Ta-Hf-C alloy films for applications in extreme conditions.