Experimental and theoretical study on the corrosion resistance of Zr–Co–Al–Nb metallic glasses

Abstract

The corrosion resistance of (Zr 56 Al 16-Co 28 ) 100-X Nb X (X = 0, 2, 4) metallic glasses in Hanks' solution were investigated by electrochemical polarization measurements. Polarization curves demonstrate that the addition of niobium into Zr-Co-Al amorphous alloys improves the corrosion resistance. Composition and chemical status of the elements in the passive film were characterized by XPS, and first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were used to analyse the mechanism theoretically.