Electrochemical behavior of multicomponent amorphous and nanocrystalline Zr-based alloys in different environments

Abstract

Electrochemical behavior of multicomponent melt spun Zr-based amorphous as well as nanocrystalline alloys have been studied in three different corrosive media (neutral NaCl, basic NaOH and acidic H₂SO₄ solutions). Due to the presence of strong passivating elements, (Zr and Ti) melt spun ternary alloys (Zr₅₅Ti₂₅Ni₂₀) have shown complete passivation in NaCl solution even as they contain a small amount of crystallinity. Amorphous multicomponent alloys containing Cu (Zr₅₈Cu₂₈Al₁₀Ti₄ and Zr₆₅Cu_7.5Al_7.5Ni₁₀Pd₁₀) show active nature in NaCl solution and this is strongly related to selective dissolution of base metal (Zr) and enrichment of Cu in the pit region. In NaOH and H₂SO₄ solutions, all the alloys have shown complete passivation irrespective of the alloy composition.