journal article·2025-07-09Open access

Effect of Buffer Layer Type on the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of Magnetron Sputtered Cr Coatings on 7050 Al Alloy

Yang Ding, Tao He, Xiangyang Du, Alexey Vereschaka, Catherine Sotova, Kang Chen, Jian Li, Yuqi Wang, Peiyu He

Coatings· Volume 15· Issue 7

Abstract

Limited hardness and corrosion resistance restrict 7050 aluminum alloys in aggressive environments. Cr coatings, applied as single layers or over Ti, Al, or Ni buffer layers, were deposited onto 7050 aluminum alloy by direct-current magnetron sputtering; their microstructure, adhesion, mechanical properties, and corrosion behavior were examined. The results indicate that introducing a buffer layer significantly enhances the bonding strength between a Cr coating and an aluminum alloy substrate, with the Ni buffer layer exhibiting the highest bonding strength, nearly three times that of the Cr coating alone. Furthermore, the buffer layer influences the mechanical properties of the Cr coatings, with Ni/Cr and Al/Cr coatings demonstrating increased hardness and elastic modulus. The Ni/Cr coating achieved the highest values of 3.95 GPa and 62.09 GPa, respectively. Regarding corrosion performance, The Cr coatings containing buffer layers showed markedly better corrosion resistance than the bare 7050 Al alloy. A compact Cr2O3 passive film formed on their surfaces, cutting the corrosion current density by roughly two orders of magnitude. Among all samples, the Ti/Cr coating performed best, registering the lowest current density (1.687 × 10−6 A cm−2) and the highest charge-transfer resistance (6090 Ω cm2).
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Metal and Thin Film Mechanics · High-Temperature Coating Behaviors · Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201600, China

Institute of Design and Technological Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 127994 Moscow, Russia

Department of High-Efficiency Machining Technologies, Moscow State University of Technology “STANKIN”, 127055 Moscow, Russia

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · International Cooperation Research Platform Construction Project of Shanghai University of Engineering Science

References (54)

Show source-provided references
1. Deposition behavior and microstructure of WC-12Co coating deposited by HVOF on 7075 aluminum alloy substrates10.1016/j.surfcoat.2024.131137 ↗
2. Microstructural Evolution and Kinetics of 7075 Al Alloy During Homogenization Treatment10.1007/s11837-024-06994-5 ↗
3. Fernández-López, P., Alves, S.A., San-Jose, J.T., Gutierrez-Berasategui, E., and Bayón, R. (2024). Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) as a Promising Technology for the Development of High-Performance Coatings on Cast Al-Si Alloys: A Review. Coatings, 14.10.3390/coatings14020217 ↗
4. Unraveling the precipitate-induced discontinuity of the surface oxide film on Al alloy10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.153108 ↗
5. Enhanced mechanical properties in 7075 Al alloy fasteners processed by post ECAP-CU aging10.1016/j.mtcomm.2025.112274 ↗
6. Enhancing corrosion and wear resistance of a 7075 aluminum alloy via depositing TC4 coating10.1016/j.jmrt.2024.08.037 ↗
7. Ni-based coating on 5083 aluminum alloy with Cu-Ni interlayer fabricated by ultra-high-speed laser directed energy deposition10.1016/j.surfcoat.2023.130068 ↗
8. Regulating hardness homogeneity and corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy via ECAP combined with inter-pass aging10.1016/j.matchar.2024.114489 ↗
9. Characterization of monolayer and single-pass pure Cu coatings applied to 6061 T6 Al alloy and AZ31B Mg alloy substrates using high-pressure cold spray technology10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.03.089 ↗
10. Influence of Cu addition on the microstructure, and corrosion behavior of electroless Ni-Cu-P coating on squeeze-cast Al-Cu-Mg alloy10.1016/j.surfcoat.2024.131544 ↗
11. Microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of AlxCrFeCoNiCu high-entropy alloy coatings on aluminum by laser cladding10.1016/j.optlastec.2020.106632 ↗
12. Microstructure, mechanical properties and low-temperature tribological behavior of Cr/Cr-W/W-DLC/DLC multilayer coatings on 5A06 Al alloy10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.03.002 ↗
13. Effect of carbon content on the structure and mechanical properties of (TiAlTaCrZr)CN high entropy alloy carbonitride coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering10.1016/j.ceramint.2025.01.004 ↗
14. Yang, X., Du, Y., Du, H., and Tang, Z. (2025). Tribocorrosion behavior of magnetron-sputtered MoS2-TiCr composite coatings. Ceram. Int.10.1016/j.ceramint.2025.04.410 ↗
15. Electrodeposition of nanocrystalline Ni and NiCr alloy coatings: Effects of Cr content on microhardness and wear resistance improvement10.1016/j.jmrt.2024.04.100 ↗
16. Exploring the effect of Si content in Cr coating on its microstructure and properties10.1016/j.surfcoat.2024.131253 ↗
17. Corrosion and fretting wear behavior of Cr-based composite coatings on zirconium alloy10.1016/j.vacuum.2025.114104 ↗
18. Tailored high-temperature corrosion behavior of Cr coatings using high power impulse magnetron sputtering on ZIRLO alloys for accident-tolerant fuel application10.1016/j.surfcoat.2024.130941 ↗
19. The effect of coating architecture and defects on the corrosion behaviour of a PVD multilayer Inconel 625/Cr coating10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.06.009 ↗
20. Controllable defect engineering to enhance the corrosion resistance of Cr/GLC multilayered coating for deep-sea applications10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110175 ↗
21. Effect of inserting the Zr layers on the tribo-corrosion behavior of Zr/ZrN multilayer coatings on titanium alloys10.1016/j.corsci.2023.111002 ↗
22. Du, H., Wen, J., Song, G., Wu, H., and Yin, Y. (2023). Corrosion Behavior of Ni/NiCr/NiCrAlSi Composite Coating on Copper for Application as a Heat Exchanger in Sea Water. Nanomaterials, 13.10.3390/nano13243129 ↗
23. Mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-Al-Ta-N/TiAl and Ti-Al-Ta-N/Ta multilayer coatings deposited by DC magnetron sputtering10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128582 ↗
24. Effect of buffer layer on oxidation and corrosion resistance of CrN coatings on Zr alloy prepared by FCVAD technology10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128942 ↗
25. Influence of niobium and hafnium doping on the wear and corrosion resistance of coatings based on ZrN10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.11.086 ↗
26. Tao, H., Zhylinski, V., Vereschaka, A., Chayeuski, V., Yuanming, H., Milovich, F., Sotova, C., Seleznev, A., and Salychits, O. (2023). Comparison of the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of the Cr-CrN, Ti-TiN, Zr-ZrN, and Mo-MoN Coatings. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13040750 ↗
27. Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy prepared by electroplating and its in situ He+ irradiation behavior10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152240 ↗
28. Insights into 1200 °C steam oxidation behavior of Cr coatings with different microstructure on Zircaloy-4 alloys for enhanced accident tolerant fuel cladding10.1016/j.anucene.2024.110885 ↗
29. Shi, W., Peng, J., Xu, Z., Shen, Q., and Wang, C. (2023). Effect of Power on Structural and Mechanical Properties of DC Magnetron Sputtered Cr Coatings. Metals, 13.10.3390/met13040691 ↗
30. Mechanical, oxidation, and cutting properties of AlCrN/AlTiSiN nano-multilayer coatings10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128094 ↗
31. Effect of nitrogen pressure on the microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical properties of CrAlN coatings deposited by filter cathode vacuum arc10.1016/j.ceramint.2022.08.216 ↗
32. Tailoring the scratch adhesion strength and wear performance of TiNiN nanocomposite coatings by optimising substrate bias voltage during cathodic arc evaporation10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128707 ↗
33. Kurbanbekov, S., Rakhadilov, B., Kakimzhanov, D., Seitov, B., Katpaeva, K., Kurmantayev, A., Dautbekov, M., and Kengesbekov, A. (2024). Research on the Structural–Phase and Physical–Mechanical Characteristics of the Cr3C2-NiCr Composite Coating Deposited by the HVOF Method on E110 Zirconium Alloy. Coatings, 14.10.3390/coatings14081030 ↗
34. Extremely improved the corrosion resistance and anti-wear behavior of aluminum alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution via amorphous CrAlN coating protection10.1016/j.corsci.2024.111952 ↗
35. Corrosion behaviors of Cr(N,O)/CrN multi-layered coatings by cathodic arc deposition10.1016/j.surfcoat.2007.07.113 ↗
36. Enhancing the corrosion resistance of high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys after equal channel angular pressing by developing retrogression and re-aging strategies10.1016/j.corsci.2025.112736 ↗
37. Zhang, J.-J., He, T., Du, X.-Y., Alexer, V., Song, M., Chen, X.-L., and Li, J. (2025). Effect of pre-heat treatment and subsequent ECAP-CU on microstructure and corrosion behavior of 7075 Al alloy fasteners. J. Cent. South Univ., 1–21.10.2139/ssrn.4982399 ↗
38. Corrosion behavior and microstructure of electrodeposited nano-layered Ni–Cr coatings10.1016/j.tsf.2015.10.046 ↗
39. Improving the corrosion resistance and conductivity of 316L bipolar plates used for PEMFCs by applying Cr/CrN multilayer coating10.1016/j.apsusc.2025.162573 ↗
40. Properties of C-doped CrTiN films on the 316L stainless steel bipolar plate for PEMFC10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.07.109 ↗
41. Effect of Al content on the corrosion resistance and conductivity of metal nitride coating in the cathode environment of PEMFCs10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.122739 ↗
42. Interfacial structure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coating by filtered cathode vacuum arc technique10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.01.076 ↗
43. The corrosive behavior of Cr/CrN multilayer coatings with different modulation periods10.1016/j.vacuum.2012.02.046 ↗
44. Comparison on electrochemical corrosion performances of arc and laser thermal sprayed Al–Ti–Ni coatings in marine environment10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.123200 ↗
45. Kinetics of epitaxial formation of nanostructures by Frank–van der Merwe, Volmer–Weber and Stranski–Krastanow growth modes10.1016/j.surfcoat.2019.125289 ↗
46. Belosludtsev, A., Sytchkova, A., Baltrusaitis, K., Vaicikauskas, V., Jasulaitiene, V., and Gric, T. (2023). Growth of Magnetron-Sputtered Ultrathin Chromium Films: In Situ Monitoring and Ex Situ Film Properties. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13020347 ↗
47. Microstructure and mechanical property evaluation of pulsed DC magnetron sputtered Cr–B and Cr–B–N films10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.09.047 ↗
48. Cao, H., Qi, F., Ouyang, X., Zhao, N., Zhou, Y., Li, B., Luo, W., Liao, B., and Luo, J. (2018). Effect of Ti Transition Layer Thickness on the Structure, Mechanical and Adhesion Properties of Ti-DLC Coatings on Aluminum Alloys. Materials, 11.10.3390/ma11091742 ↗
49. Effects of the thickness of Ti buffer layer on the mechanical properties of TiN coatings10.1016/S0257-8972(03)00243-3 ↗
50. Effect of Ag buffer layer thickness on the microstructure and hardness distribution of Cu alloy coating on Al substrate10.1016/j.surfcoat.2023.129840 ↗
51. Wang, M., Liu, G., Huang, M., Fu, Y., Lin, C., Wu, J., and Levchenko, V.A. (2022). Investigation of the Adhesion Strength, Fracture Toughness, and Stability of M/Cr2N and M/V2N (M = Ti, Ru, Ni, Pd, Al, Ag, and Cu) Interfaces Based on First-Principles Calculations. Coatings, 12.10.3390/coatings12010066 ↗
52. Interface structure and corrosion resistance of Ti/Cr nanomultilayer film prepared by magnetron sputtering on depleted uranium10.1021/am401284e ↗
53. Comparative study on crack resistance of TiAlN monolithic and Ti/TiAlN multilayer coatings10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.11.155 ↗
54. Corrosion behavior of passivation layer Cr2O3 of uncoated stainless steel under the anodic and cathodic conditions: A first-principles study10.1016/j.cej.2024.152658 ↗