Nitrogen-dependent evolution of microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance in (TiZrNbTaMo)Nx high-entropy nitride films

With high hardness and excellent corrosion resistance, high-entropy alloy nitride films are considered promising for applications in biomedical materials. In this study, (TiZrNbTaMo)N x high-entropy nitride films (HENFs) with face-centered cubic (fcc) phase structures were synthesized via magnetron sputtering under varying nitrogen flow ratios (f N ). The effects of nitrogen content on microstructure evolution, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance were systematically investigated. As f N increased, the HENFs exhibited a morphological transition from dense to loose and back to dense configurations. At f N = 5% and 10%, the (TiZrNbTaMo)N x HENFs demonstrated relatively high nanohardness values of 13.92 GPa and 13.48 GPa, respectively. Regarding corrosion resistance, the sample deposited at f N = 10% achieved the relatively high open-circuit potential (OCP) of 35 mV SCE and the lowest corrosion current density (1.64 × 10 -8 A/cm 2 ). These results indicate that the (TiZrNbTaMo)N x film prepared with f N = 10% exhibits optimal comprehensive performance. The experimental findings suggest that controlled nitrogen incorporation during deposition can effectively enhance the multifunctional characteristics of HENFs.