Effect of Zn film thickness on corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of WE43 alloy

Abstract A layer of Zinc (Zn) film is prepared on the surface of WE43 alloy using filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition equipment, and the effect of deposition time on the corrosion resistance of the film was discussed. The experimental results show that the film layer is mainly composed of Zn and ZnO. The deposition time has a greater impact on the quality of the film. When the deposition time is 800 s, the film is densest and has fewer defects. The polarization curve fitting results show that Zn800 alloy has the best corrosion resistance, and its corrosion current density is 34.8 ± 5.91 μA·cm−2, which is 77.2% lower than that of the substrate. At the same time, the nano-hardness (HIT) and elastic modulus (EIT) of Zn800 alloy are 0.35 ± 0.03 GPa and 24.45 ± 3.20 GPa, respectively, which has an EIT closer to human bones.