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Influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior of biomedical

Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

Xin Dong, Qi Sun, Yanan Zhou, Yuntao Qu, Haojiang Shi, Biao
Zhang, Sheng Xu, Wenbo Liu, Ning Li, Jiazhen Yan

PII: S0010-938X(20)30019-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2020.108688
Reference: CS 108688

To appear in: Corrosion Science

Received Date: 4 January 2020

Revised Date: 8 April 2020
Accepted Date: 16 April 2020

Please cite this article as: Dong X, Sun Q, Zhou Y, Qu Y, Shi H, Zhang B, Xu S, Liu W, Li N,
Yan J, Influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior of biomedical Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy
fabricated by selective laser melting, Corrosion Science (2020),
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2020.108688

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© 2020 Published by Elsevier.

Influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior of biomedical Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

Xin Dong,a Qi Sun,a Yanan Zhou,a Yuntao Qu, a Haojiang Shi,a Biao Zhang,b Sheng

Xu,c Wenbo Liu,a Ning Li,a* and Jiazhen Yana*

a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China

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b
Chengdu Keningda Materials Co., China, Chengdu 610065, China

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c
College of Stomatology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 532201, China

Tel: +86-028-85405320; E-mail: lining@scu.edu.cn; yanjiazhen@scu.edu.cn

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Highlights
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 The corrosion behavior of SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy was investigated by

electrochemical techniques.
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 The lower content of precipitates generates a more homogenous structure and

improve the corrosion resistance.

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 The large precipitates act as effective micro-cathode resulting in pitting corrosion

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and high corrosion rate.

Abstract
 In this paper, we investigated the influence of microstructure on corrosion

behavior of Selective laser melting (SLM) and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy by using

electrochemical techniques. The passive property and non-corrodibility of SLM Co-

Cr-Mo-W alloy were mainly ascribed to the microstructure (content and structure

distribution of precipitates). The higher content of precipitates can cause severe

microsegregation phenomenon and form an inhomogeneous structure, which is the

main reason for the inferior corrosion resistance. In addition, the segregated large

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precipitates work as effective micro-cathode, resulting pitting corrosion and increased

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corrosion rate.

Keywords: Selective laser melting; Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy; Corrosion behavior;

Electrochemical; Precipitates
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1. Introduction
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Co-Cr-Mo based alloys are the indispensable biomaterials in the field of hip joint

replacements, dental restoration, and bone fixation devices, due to its high
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biocompatibility, mechanical property, and corrosion resistance [1, 2]. Co-Cr-Mo

based alloy is generally fabricated by casting method (Cast), which is a complicated

process and not suited customized parts. Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) has

attracted great attention for fabrication of biomedical devices, which can meet
individualized requirement and reduce the production cost and time [3-5]. In recent

years, Selective laser melting (SLM), a family of AM technology, has been gradually

used to fabricate Co-Cr-Mo based alloy. From previous study, the SLM fabricated Co-

Cr-Mo based alloy delivered higher yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, and

hardness than traditional Cast produced samples by means of fine-crystal and second-

phase strengthening [6-8]. The SLM fabrication process has rapid cooling rate and

high temperature gradient, which endow relatively small grains and uniformly

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precipitate phase distribution [9, 10]. However, the Cast Co-Cr-Mo based alloy

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typically shows inhomogeneous structure with large island-like precipitates

aggregated in grain, which is seriously detrimental for mechanical property.

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Indeed, the microstructure of Co-Cr-Mo based alloy determines the mechanical
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property as well as influence the corrosion behavior [11-15]. The corrosion resistance

is critical for biomedical alloy, which not only influence the metal ion release but also
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relate the structure stability of the biomedical parts. In fact, the metal ion release can
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deteriorate the biocompatibility and cause severe metabolic disturbance in tissues

[11]. In previous study, M. Mori et al. delivered that the carbon addition in Cast Co-
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Cr-Mo alloys lead to decreased corrosion resistance and increase the Co and Cr metal

ion dissolution amount during static immersion test [15]. Eleonora Bettini et al.
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indicated that the near area of precipitate phase is the preferential sites for corrosion in

Cast Co-Cr-Mo alloy [12, 13]. Because the precipitate phase (carbide precipitate in

their study) presents nobler potential compared with the near area of precipitate phase

[12, 13]. C. V. Vidal et al. showed that carbon precipitate depletes the Cr content in
the metal matrix, which decrease the availability of Cr to form inert oxide film and

further reduce the corrosion resistance [14]. M. Jenko et al. also stated that the

carbides and other inclusions may be the possible corrosion initiation site for cast and

wrought Co-Cr-Mo alloys [16]. Although the influence of microstructure on corrosion

behavior of cast and wrought Co-Cr-Mo based alloys have been researched and

achieved some results, the knowledge about the effect of microstructure on corrosion

behavior of SLM produced Co-Cr-Mo based alloy are still limited. Especially, the

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influence of precipitates on corrosion behavior for SLM Co-Cr-Mo based alloy, which

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has different structure compared with Cast samples. In addition, to achieve long and

safety life expectancy of SLM fabricated biomedical Co-Cr-Mo based alloy, the
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influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior needs better understanding and
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clarifying.

Herein, in this study we analyzed the influence of microstructure on corrosion

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behavior of SLM fabricated Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy using potentiodynamic polarization,

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electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry techniques,

respectively. We characterized the chemistry and microstructure of SLM Co-Cr-Mo-

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W alloy before and after electrochemical experiment, which were compared with the

Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy to better clarifying the influence of microstructure on

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corrosion behavior. The electrochemical study shows that the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloy has higher corrosion resistance and lower released metal ions than Cast Co-Cr-

Mo-W alloy. The large precipitates deplete the W and Mo in the surrounding metal

matrix and act as micro-cathode, resulting lower corrosion resistance and high
corrosion rate. The results of this work revealed the downside of large precipitates on

corrosion resistance and can shed some lights toward practical application of SLM

Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy.

2. Materials and experiments

2.1 Specimen preparation

The Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy powder for SLM shaping process and Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloy cast ingots were all provided by Chengdu Keningda Materials co. China, and

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they have the same chemical composition as list in Table 1. The alloy powder and

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casting ingots are all free of Ni, Cd, and Be, which can cause severe inflammation in

tissues. The Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy powder for SLM shaping process was fabricated by
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gas atomization in nitrogen atmosphere and the powder size range from ~15.3 to
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~55.7 μm. The Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy powder was performed to laser shaping by SLM

machine (HBD-100, Guangdong Hanbang Laser technology Co. China). The

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dimensions for SLM fabricated specimen are 70 (mm) × 70 (mm) × 1 (mm). The
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standard SLM shaping parameters including laser power, scan speed, layer thickness,

and scan interval were 180 W, 1400 mm s-1, 35 μm, and 70 μm, respectively. The
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SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys were all conducted annealing treatment at

1150 ℃ for 1 h under vacuum environment and then were furnace cooled to room
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temperature.

2.2 Electrochemical experiments and equipment

Prior to electrochemical experiments, the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys

were cut with dimensions of 15 (mm) × 15 (mm) × 1 (mm) by wire-cutting EDM

(Electrical Discharge Machining). All the specimens were ground with waterproof

papers up to 2000 grits and polished with 0.2 μm diamond paste to mirror-like

surface. The metallic sheets were connected with copper foil and embedded in non-

conductive resin, leaving available area of 2.25 cm2. The electrochemical

experiments were performed on a typical three-electrode cells using SLM and Cast

Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys as working electrode, Pt foil as counter electrode, and saturated

calomel electrode (SCE) as reference electrode, respectively. The potentiodynamic

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polarization experiment was performed at scan rate of 1 mV s-1 range from -345 mV

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(below the open circuit potential) to 1200 mV (vs. SCE) toward anodic direction.

Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) recorded between -300 and 1200 mV (vs. SCE) for
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total 25 cycles with scan rate of 10 mV s-1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
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(EIS) measurements were tested over frequency range from 0.01 Hz to 1 MHz with

AC amplitude of 5 mV at open circuit potential. All electrochemical experiments were

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conducted at CHI760E electrochemical workstation (Shanghai Chenhua Instrument

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Co., China) in 0.9% NaCl solutions (100 mL) at 310 K. The PH of 0.9% NaCl

solution was adjusted at 7.4 by addition of NaOH (1 M) solution.

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2.3 Microstructure and composition characterization

The crystal phase structure of the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys were
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characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, Rigaku D/Max-2400) with Co Kα radiation

from 20° to 80°. The surface chemical state was measured by X-ray photoelectron

spectroscope (XPS) analyzer (XSAM 800) using Al Kα radiation source (hν = 1486.6

eV). The testing area for XPS experiment was 1 (mm) × 1 (mm). To reveal the
microstructure variation, the polished SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys were

characterized at optical microscope (OM) (Olympus QX-51) before and after

electrochemical measurement. The microstructure of SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloys were also determined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy

(FESEM, Hitachi S-4800) using backscattered electron (BE) and second electron (SE)

image mode. The chemical composition of the precipitates and metal matrix of the

SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys were determined by point mode Energy dispersive

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spectrometer (EDS).

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3. Results and discussion

3.1 Microstructure characterization

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We characterized the microstructure and composition of the polished SLM and
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Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy using XRD, XPS, OM, and SEM with point mode EDS

technique, respectively. Fig. 1 shows the XRD patterns of the polished SLM and Cast
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Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, which are all consisting of face centered cubic γ-Co phase (ICDD
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No. 15-0806), hexagonal close packed ε-Co phase (ICDD No. 15-0727), and Laves

phase (intermetallic compound). The previous study demonstrated that the γ-Co phase
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is thermodynamically stable at high temperature, while the ε-Co phase is stable at

room temperature [17-19]. As inferred from the XRD spectra, the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W
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alloy has much more content of γ-Co than Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, because the

transformation of γ-Co to ε-Co was hampered during the SLM shaping process (high

cooling rate). The stoichiometry Laves phase precipitates is the Co3(Mo,W)2Si

compound, as the previous published results [17]. The more pronounced peak for
Laves phase in Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy represents the high content of Laves phase

(precipitates), which can be ascribed to the slow cooling rate in the casting process.

The higher content of Laves phase (precipitates) can cause severe microscopic

composition segregation. The XPS survey spectra of polished SLM and Cast Co-Cr-

Mo-W alloy are shown in Fig. 2b. The general shapes of the spectrum are similar. The

peaks of C, O, Co, Cr and Mo are observed for all samples, whereas the peaks of W

are not detected. The Mo content is very low (< 3%), suggesting the sample surface

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are mainly consisted of O, Co and Cr element. Fig. 2c and 2d show the high-

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resolution XPS spectra of Co 2p3/2 and Cr 2p3/2 recorded on the surface of polished

SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. The center of the 2p3/2 peaks for Co metal located
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in 777.9 eV and is shifted to 780.0 eV and 780.8 eV with the formation of Co3O4 and
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CoO compound [20, 21]. The peaks of Cr 2p3/2 is decomposed to Crmet at 574.1 eV,

Cr2O3 at 576.6 eV, and Cr (VI) compound at 578.7 eV, respectively [21]. Therefore, it
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can be concluded that the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy have the same crystal
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structure and surface chemistry state before electrochemical experiment.

Fig. 2a and 2b show the OM images of the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy,
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which are all performed at polished state (not conduct etch treatment). As shown in

Fig. 2a, the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy exhibits some dark spots, which are the pores
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forming during the SLM shaping process. As shown in Fig. 2c, the SEM image of

SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy clearly shows evenly bimodal precipitates (bright particles)

distribution. The precipitates exhibit a bright contrast because they enriched elements

with high atomic numbers (e.g. Mo and W). The precipitates with size approximately
300 nm exist on the grain boundary, while the precipitates with mean size 50 nm

distribute on the grain interior (Fig. 2c). The OM and SEM image of Cast Co-Cr-Mo-

W alloy showed that the precipitates size ranges from 5-50 μm (Fig. 2b and 2d),

which is consistent with the typical feature of cast Co-Cr-Mo based alloy [22-24]. In

addition, the large island-like precipitates and relatively small dot-scope precipitates

were randomly segregated in the grain interior, showing inhomogeneous structure.

The chemical composition of precipitates and metal matrix were determined by point

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mode EDS technique. The detected location of precipitates and metal matrix were

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represented by colorful dots respectively. The point mode EDS analysis results of

SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy showed that the precipitates (Laves phase) are poor
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chromium, whereas the surrounding metal matrix has relatively higher chromium
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content. In addition, the content of Mo and W in metal matrix is lower than

precipitates. However, as reference work of 12-14 (at least 0.2 wt. % carbon addition)
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reported that the formed chromium carbide precipitates had high Cr content, and
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therefore the near precipitate phase area (Cr depleted region) was the preferential sites

for corrosion. Because, the formed chromium carbide depletes the metal matrix in Cr,
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and thus deteriorate the corrosion resistance. In our study, the precipitates had lower

content of Cr whether SLM or Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, which is not consistent with
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the previous published Co-Cr-Mo alloy with carbon addition [12-14]. In our work

(without carbon addition), the precipitates phase is Laves phase, a type of

Co3(Mo,W)2Si compound. It has been reported that Mo can increase the corrosion

resistance, like its roles in stainless steels [25]. The relatively higher Mo content in the
Laves precipitates and lower Mo content in nearby metal matrix can also make up

micro-galvanic cells, which was verified in the electrochemical results.

3.2 Electrochemical results

The corrosion behavior was investigated by electrochemical experiments

including potentiodynamic polarization curves, electrochemical impedance

spectroscopy measurements, and cyclic voltammetry in 0.9% NaCl solution at 310 K.

Fig. 3a shows the potentiodynamic polarization curves of SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-

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W alloys at the scan rate of 1 mV s-1. Although the general shapes of the polarization

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curves are similar, several differences still can be discovered. The corrosion potential

(Ecorr) of the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy (-251 mV) was higher than Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W
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alloy (-290 mV), suggesting the high non corrodibility of SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy.
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Furthermore, the EIS experiments were applied to investigate the metal/electrolyte

interface, which is the important ways to evaluate the corrosion resistance [26-28].
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Fig. 3b shows the Nyquist plots of SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy testing at open
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circuit potential. The Nyquist plots consist a semicircle in the high to medium

frequency range, the diameter of which suggests the corrosion resistance [28, 29]. The
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equivalent electrical circuit was applied for fitting the experiment data of SLM and

Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys (the inset in Fig. 3b), which consists of electrolyte
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resistance (Rs), charge transfer resistance (Rct), and constant phase angle element

(CPE). The diameter of Rct is proportional to corrosion resistance (Rcorr), i.e. the

higher Rct signify higher corrosion resistance. The fitting results indicated that the

SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy has higher Rcorr (7006 Ω) than the Rcorr of Cast Co-Cr-
Mo-W alloy (1810 Ω), which further confirm the higher corrosion resistance of SLM

Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. The CPE can represent the capacitance (C) of double layer and

account for the non-ideal behavior of the capacitive elements [14]. According to the

fitting results, the value of C is 67.7 μF and 9.85 μF for SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloy, respectively. The different value of C may be due to the diverse physical

phenomena such as surface heterogeneity, which may result from surface impurities,

dislocations or grain boundaries [14]. To further investigate metal ion dissolution and

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corrosion resistance of SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloys, the CV measurements

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were recorded for total 25 cycles with the scan rate of 10 mV s-1 (Fig. 3c and 3d). The

potential window for CV measurements was chosen between -0.3 V from 1.2 V (vs.
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SCE). It can be found that the current density of the Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy is higher
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than SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, indicating the Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy has high

electrochemical activity. The high electrochemical activity of Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy

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can be ascribed to the large and segregated precipitates phase, which leads to effective
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micro-galvanic cells for electrochemical reaction. It has been reported that small

hysteresis loop during the forward and reverse scans can be attributed to the
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electrochemical oxidation of water and a slight metal dissolution, while large

hysteresis loop was mainly characterized by metal ion dissolution [13]. The relatively
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small hysteresis loop in the CVs of the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy means a slight metal

dissolution and relatively high corrosion resistance (Fig. 3c). However, the lager

hysteresis loop in the CV curves of Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy suggests large amount of

metal ion dissolution and inferior corrosion resistance. Indeed, the color change of the
electrolyte solutions was observed after CV measurement in Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy,

which can be attributed to the dissolution of chromium [14]. Furthermore, as shown in

Fig. 3c, the CV curves of SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy are well overlapped after 5th

cycle, suggesting its steady corrosion resistance. In contrast, the CV curves of the

Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy exhibited unsteady CV curves until 25th cycle, which further

confirm high electrochemical activity and relatively unsteady corrosion resistance.

According to the electrochemical experiment, the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy delivered

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higher corrosion resistance and lower metal ion dissolution amount than Cast Co-Cr-

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Mo-W alloy. Hereafter, the specimens after potentiodynamic polarization and CV

measurement were characterized by OM and SEM technique to further reveal the

influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior.

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As shown in Fig. 4a and 4c, after potentiodynamic polarization measurement, the

SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy presents distinctive grain boundary as denoted by white

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arrow. The SEM image (BE mode) also reveals the grain boundary as well as the
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surrounding fine precipitates. Compared with the SEM image before potentiodynamic

polarization measurement (Fig. 2c), it can be concluded that the grain boundary is the
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preferential sites for corrosion in SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. Because, as the J. R.

Trelewicz et. al stated that grain boundary has much number of active sites for
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corrosion [11]. In addition, many precipitates presented in the grain boundary, which

deteriorate the corrosion resistance (Fig 2c). No pitting and local corrosion

phenomenon was detected in the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. However, the pitting

corrosion at the near area of large precipitates was clearly observed in OM and SEM
image of Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy (Fig 4b and 4d). Also, the corrosion cracks

appeared at near the large precipitates (Fig. 4d).

Fig. 5a and 5b provide the typical OM images of the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-

W alloy samples after 25 cycles CV measurement. The SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy still

maintains homogenous structure and no obvious surface morphology change can be

found compared with Fig. 4a. The SEM image of SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy in Fig. 5c

demonstrated that the corrosion cracks appeared at grain boundary. The observed

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phenomenon confirmed that the grain boundary is the easily corrosion area for SLM

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Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. The OM image of Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy presents continuous

corrosion cracks at interior of large precipitate, as well as the near area of large
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precipitate (Fig. 5b). The continuous corrosion cracks suggested the high amount of
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metal ion dissolution, which is in line with the results of CV measurement. As shown

in Fig. 5d, the corrosion cracks like a “grid” and connects the whole metal matrix,
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which further confirms the deteriorated corrosion resistance and high amount of metal
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ion dissolution.

The SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy have same chemical composition, crystal
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structure, and surface chemistry state. The passive property and non-corrodibility of

SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy were mainly ascribed to the microstructure (content and
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structure distribution of precipitates). The lower content of precipitates in SLM Co-

Cr-Mo-W alloy generates a more homogenous structure and improve the corrosion

resistance. Meanwhile, the high corrosion resistance can be ascribed to the uniformly

distributed fine precipitates, which cannot formation effective micro-cell and thus
prevent pitting corrosion as well as maintain the non-corrodibility. For the Cast Co-

Cr-Mo-W alloy, the higher content of precipitates cause

microsegregation phenomenon and form an inhomogeneous structure, which is the

main reason for the unsteady and lower corrosion resistance. In addition, large

precipitates act as effective micro-cathode and metal matrix work as micro-anode,

resulting pitting corrosion and high corrosion rate. It has been reported that the

nanometer to sub-micrometer second phase precipitates do not substantially increase

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pitting corrosion when compared to micrometer size second phase precipitates [30].

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Similarly, the Cast-Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy with large precipitates was found notably

pitting corrosion than SLM-Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy with finer precipitates. As shown in

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Fig. 4b and 4d, the high number density of corrosion pits was observed in the
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periphery of large precipitates in the Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy after potentiodynamic

polarization measurement. While, no corrosion pits were observed at the SLM-Co-Cr-

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Mo-W alloy with finer precipitates (Fig. 4a and 4c). The obtained experiment
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phenomenon clearly exhibits that the large precipitates are effective micro-cathode

with respect to the metal-matrix.

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4. Conclusion

In this work, the influence of microstructure on corrosion behavior of SLM and

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Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy were investigated using electrochemical techniques

(potentiodynamic polarization curve, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and

cyclic voltammetry techniques) in 0.9% NaCl solutions. The SLM and Cast Co-Cr-

Mo-W alloy have same chemical composition, crystal structure, and surface chemistry
state. By analyzing the results of electrochemical measurement, the SLM Co-Cr-Mo-

W alloy was proved to be better corrosion resistance and lower metal ion dissolution

amount than Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. The passive property and non-corrodibility of

SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy were mainly ascribed to the microstructure (content and

structure distribution of precipitates). The high corrosion resistance of the SLM Co-

Cr-Mo-W alloy can be attributed to the uniformly fine precipitates distribution, which

cannot formation effective micro-cell. However, for Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, the

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large precipitates can cause microsegregation phenomenon and generates an

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inhomogeneous structure. Meanwhile, the large precipitates also act as effective

micro-cathode, leading to pitting corrosion and increased corrosion rate. The results
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of this work revealed the downside of large precipitates on corrosion resistance and
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can shed some lights toward practical application of SLM Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy.

Conflicts of interest
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The authors have no conflicting financial interests.

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Data availability

The data analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author
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on reasonable request.

Acknowledgement
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We would be grateful the Dr. Hui Wang (Analytical &Testing Center of Sichuan

University) for her help of SEM testing. We also thank Kangwei Chen for his critical

discussion of the manuscript.

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Figure captions:

Fig. 1 (a) XRD patterns and (b) XPS spectra for polished SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloys, respectively. High-resolution XPS (c) Co 2p3/2 spectra and (d) Cr 2p3/2 spectra

recorded at the surface of polished SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, respectively.

Fig. 1

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Fig. 2 OM images of the (a) SLM and (b) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. SEM images of

(c) SLM and (d) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy (BE mode), and corresponding point mode

EDS results. The colorful dot denotes the analyzing locations. The inset in parts a, b, c

and d are the corresponding high magnification image, respectively.

 Fig. 2

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Wt.% Co Cr Mo W Si Nb
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Precipitate 1 44.00 16.41 14.54 23.30 1.76 /

Matrix 2 56.31 26.79 6.85 8.06 1.86 0.13
Precipitate 3 47.33 23.88 13.72 11.22 1.03 2.82
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Precipitate 4 47.17 24.25 13.38 12.14 0.95 2.10

Matrix 5 62.02 25.04 5.62 6.79 0.54 /
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Fig. 3 (a) Potentiodynamic polarization curves and (b) electrochemical impedance

spectra (EIS) of the SLM and Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, respectively. Cyclic
voltammetry curve of (c) SLM and (d) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy. The inset in Fig. 3b is

the equivalent circuit for analysis impedance spectra.

Fig. 3

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Fig. 4 OM images of the typical corroded area after potentiodynamic polarization

measurement of (a) SLM and (b) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, respectively. SEM images
of Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy after potentiodynamic polarization measurement: (c) SLM (BE

mode) and (d) Cast (SE mode). The insets in (a) and (b) are the corresponding high

magnification image, respectively.

Fig. 4

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Fig. 5 OM images of the typical corroded area after cyclic voltammetry measurement

of (a) SLM and (b) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy, respectively. SEM images of Co-Cr-Mo-
W alloy after cyclic voltammetry measurement: (c) SLM and (d) Cast Co-Cr-Mo-W

alloy. The insets in (a), (b), and (d) are the corresponding high magnification image,

respectively.

Fig.5

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Tables:

Table 1 Chemical composition of the Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy (wt. %).

Element Co Cr Mo W Si Nb

composition Bal. 25.15 3.99 6.36 1.03 1.04

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