Electrochemical and XPS studies of the corrosion behavior of sputter-deposited W-Nb alloys in concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions

Amorphous W-Nb alloys containing 52-78 at% niobium have been prepared successfully by DC magnetron sputtering. The W-Nb alloys are passivated spontaneously and show high corrosion resistance in both 6 and 12 M HCl solutions at 30 degrees C. In particular, their corrosion rates in 12 M HCl solution are about one order of magnitude lower than those of tungsten and niobium. Analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that tungsten is slightly enriched in the spontaneously passive films formed on the alloys after immersion for a long time in HCl solutions at 30 degrees C, and the passive films are composed of double oxyhydroxides of tungsten and niobium ions. Angle-resolved XPS measurements reveal that tungsten and niobium ions are homogeneously distributed throughout the passive films. The formation of the spontaneous passive film composed of the homogeneous double oxyhydroxide of tungsten and niobium ions is responsible for the high corrosion resistance of the W-Nb alloys. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.