High-Throughput Preparation and Characterization of ZrMoTaW Refractory Multi-Principal Element Alloy Film

In this work, high-throughput screening technology is applied to four-member refractory multi-principal element alloys (RMPEAs) films with high W content. The exploration of refractory metals such as W is strictly limited by the high melting temperature in this work; a multi-gradient deposition method was introduced to overcome this obstacle. By adjusting the power and distance from the target to the sample, component Zr₁₁Mo₁₁Ta₂₅W₅₃ with the best hardening performance was successfully obtained. The uniformity of the material library was analyzed from the perspectives of phase structure and micromorphology. With the help of Hume-Rothery theory and XRD analysis, it is shown that the film has a stable bcc structure. It is believed that film uniformity, nanoscale size, preferential orientation, surface roughness, and solution mechanism are the pivotal factors to improve hardness performance, especially for high W components. The hardness and modulus of elasticity can reach 20 GPa and 300 GPa, respectively, and the H/Er and H³/Er² values are 0.067 and 0.065, showing the best wear resistance in many samples.