Corrosion resistance and tribological behavior of FeCoCrNi@GO/Ni high entropy alloy-based composite coatings prepared by electrodeposition

The preparation of high entropy alloy (HEA) coatings onto a stainless-steel substrate is crucial to pursue improved corrosion and wear resistance but are still challenging. Herein, FeCoCrNi@GO/Ni coatings are innovatively cross-integrated with stainless steel by introducing a nickel transition layer to break through the “bottleneck” of stainless steel. Meanwhile, variation of the coating corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution and tribological behavior against GCr15 steel balls was also deeply explored. The addition of graphene oxide (GO) delayed the movement of corrosive medium and improved the corrosion resistance. Interestingly, the coatings with low GO content and high GO content show different wear mechanisms respectively, and the lower GO content is conducive to the formation of oxidized lubrication layer, thus protecting the substrate from severe friction and wear. However, the high content of GO coating will cause damage and spalling of oxide layer and GO, and the wear mechanism changes from oxidative wear to the co-wear of oxidative wear and abrasive wear. This work will provide a novel idea for the development of HEA coatings in the future.