Combination of plasma electrolytic oxidation and pulsed laser deposition for preparation of corrosion-resisting composite film on zirconium alloys

In this paper, the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) methods were combined for the preparation of ZrO2 and Cr/CrN/Cr2O3 composite film on Zr-4 alloy. The PEO process was carried out in the alkaline electrolyte containing KOH and Na3PO4. For the PLD process, a Cr2N target was decomposed to CrN and Cr, and the latter is partially oxidized under the background gas of oxygen to form a Cr/CrN/Cr2O3 film. The composite film exhibits excellent corrosion resistance at high temperature. This work provides a methodological guidance for the preparation of composite film on zirconium alloys, which are usually used as structural materials in the nuclear industry. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.