Oxidation Resistance of Fe80Cr20 Alloys Treated by Rare Earth Element Ion Implantation

The oxidation behaviour of newly developed process of Fe80Cr20 alloy was studied as a function of temperature in the range 1173‐1273 K for up to 100 h in flowing air, which corresponds to the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) environment operating conditions. The effects of rare earth element implantation and depth profile on the oxidation behaviour of specimens were analyzed based on oxide morphology and microstructure. Characterisation of the oxide phase products after oxidation was made by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The surface morphology of oxide scales was examined using the scanning electronic microscope (SEM) with energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX). The rate constant of thermal oxidation was determined using Wagner method. Experimental results show that the specimens implanted with lanthanum have remarkably enhanced the oxidation resistance. The oxidation test indicates that the newly developed process of Fe80Cr20 implantation with lanthanum ions exhibit considerably greater improvement in the oxidati...