TEM observation on phase separation and interfaces of laser surface alloyed high-entropy alloy coating

Phase separation is a common phenomenon in traditional alloys. Under the condition of appropriate undercooling, the segregation phenomenon can be also found in blue-chip high-entropy alloys (HEAs). In this work, the phase separation behavior and interfacial investigation of laser surface alloyed HEA coating with high content Ti were studied principally by transmission electron microscopy. The results show that crystal structure and elementary composition on both sides of the interface of coating/substrate are quite different, and the interfaces between different phases are incoherent or semi-coherent boundarys, resolved by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. In the interface of (Co, Ni)Ti₂ phase/β-Ti phase, there is angle of 80° between BCC〈100〉 and FCC〈201〉. An interesting 'island' structure, that β-Ti phases are embraced by (Co, Ni)Ti₂ compounds in the BCC matrix, was observed definitely, which is attributed to the combined action of Ti segregation and inter-attraction of Ti and other elements.