Investigating the effect of stearic acid on the hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance of the anodized AlCrFeMnTi high entropy alloy

One of the methods used to create a hydrophobic surface is anodizing along with sealing the porous surfaces. In the present work, to achieve hydrophobicity and hierarchical micro-nano structure, the surface of AlCrFeMnTi high entropy alloy was anodized. For anodizing, the parameters such as voltage (5,10,15V) and time (15, 30 min) were considered as variables. Then, the surfaces were sealed with stearic acid to reduce the surface energy and fill the created pores after coating. The chemical composition of the samples was determined by EDS techniques. Also, using FE-SEM and Profilometery, the microstructural evolutions as well as the morphology of samples were characterized. The molecular bonds were then identified by performing FT-IR analysis. Further, by conducting linear polarization test, it was found that the highest corrosion resistance was pertaining to the sample anodized with a voltage of 15 V for 15 min then, sealed with stearic acid (A + S(15v,15min)); its amount was obtained as 1,027,000 Ω cm 2 . Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was also performed, which confirms the results obtained from linear polarization. Finally, the surface hydrophobicity was measured by the contact angle test. the sample anodized with a voltage 15 V for 15 min exhibited the highest contact angle of 154.7° indicating the superhydrophobic surface was attained. Therefore, this work is an effective way to create hydrophobic and corrosion resistant surfaces on AlCrFeMnTi high entropy alloy.