TY - JOUR A1 - Sobetkii, Arcadii A1 - Mosinoiu, Laurentiu-Florin A1 - Caramarin, Stefania A1 - Mitrica, Dumitru A1 - Cursaru, Laura-Madalina A1 - Matei, Alexandru-Cristian A1 - Tudor, Ioan-Albert A1 - Serban, Beatrice-Adriana A1 - Ghita, Mihai A1 - Vitan, Nicoleta A1 - Witt, Julia A1 - Özcan Sandikcioglu, Özlem A1 - Postolnyi, Bogdan A1 - Pogrebnjak, Alexander T1 - Deposition and Characterization of Cu-Enhanced High-Entropy Alloy Coatings via DC Magnetron Sputtering N2 - Protection against microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is critical for materials used in aquatic environments, as MIC accelerates material degradation and leads to faster structural failure. Copper (Cu) has the potential to substantially improve the MIC resistance in alloys. In this study, high-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings containing Cu were deposited using DC (Direct Current) magnetron sputtering to enhance the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of various substrates. Two CuCrFeMnNi HEA compositions in the form of bulk alloys and PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings, with 5% and 10% Cu, were analyzed for their microstructural, mechanical, and anticorrosive characteristics. Deposition parameters were varied to select the optimal values. Microstructural evaluations using SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), and AFM (atomic force microscopy) revealed uniform, dense coatings with good adhesion composed of dendritic and interdendritic BCC (body-centered cubic) and FCC (face centered cubic) structures, respectively. Microhardness tests indicated improved mechanical properties for the samples coated with developed HEAs. The coatings exhibited improved corrosion resistance in NaCl solution, the 10% Cu composition displaying the highest polarization resistance and lowest corrosion rate. These findings suggest that Cu-containing HEA coatings are promising candidates for applications requiring enhanced corrosion protection. KW - High-entropy alloys (HEAs) KW - DC magnetron sputtering KW - Cu-enhanced coatings KW - Corrosion resistance KW - Microstructural characterization PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-625561 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/app15041917 SN - 2076-3417 VL - 15 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-62556 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -