5 atom % of zirconium in amorphous
Zr65Al7.5Cu27.5
alloy was replaced with various M (Pd, Ni, In, Mn, Cr, Ti, Nb, and Zr), to evaluate the effects of alloying elements, M, on the surface composition and anodic polarization behavior of the alloy. The surface oxide of the Zr-M-Al-Cu alloys generated in a deaerated phosphate-buffered saline solution, PBS(−), was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Also, the alloy was anodically polarized in deaerated PBS(−) to determine open-circuit potential,
Enormalopen,
polarization resistance,
Rnormalp,
and pitting potential,
Enormalpit.
M was incorporated into the surface oxide film with the increase in the oxygen affinity of M, and the relative concentration of Zr to Al,
false[normalZrfalse]/false[normalZr+normalAlfalse],
was varied. The
Rnormalp
at
Enormalopen
increased and
Enormalpit
decreased with the increase in
false[normalZrfalse]/false[normalZr+normalAlfalse].
Therefore, the high value of
Rnormalp
with the large ratio of
false[normalZrfalse]/false[normalZr+normalAlfalse]
seems to be caused by the high resistance of Zr-containing oxide to general corrosion and/or the preferential dissolution of Al. Zr-containing oxide is susceptible to pitting corrosion. Eventually, the
Rnormalp
values of Pd-, Ni-, and Nb-containing alloys were high. The
Enormalpit
values of Pd-, and In-, Zr-containing alloys were high. © 2002 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.