Unveiling the influence of grain refinement and crystallographic orientation on electrochemical behavior of cost-effective Fe₄₀Ni₂₅Cr₂₅Mo₅Al₅ high-entropy alloy

This research has undoubtedly offered valuable insight into the correlation of grain refinement and crystallographic texture with the electrochemical properties of the cost-effective Fe₄₀Ni₂₅Cr₂₅Mo₅Al₅ high-entropy alloy in a 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solution, successfully processed through the cyclic closed-die forging (CCDF) technique for up to six passes. The findings revealed that the high strains imposed during CCDF processing, along with the uniform distribution of extremely fine grains, significantly decreased the corrosion current density of the alloy from 1.05 to 0.75 μA/cm². Moreover, the presence of high-intensity {011} orientations, such as the Brass {011}<211> and P {110}<221> components in the CCDF-processed alloy, provided ideal conditions for developing oxide passive films with superior protection properties compared to the as-homogenized alloy. Consequently, these findings open new avenues for the exploration of the crystallographic-orientation-dependent electrochemical properties in the corrosion performance of high-entropy alloys.