Al2O3 coating as barrier against corrosion in Pb-17Li

Abstract Alumina coating, with a thickness of 1 μm, has been manufactured by Pulsed Laser Deposition on EUROFER. A whole characterization of the interface, bare and coated, with stagnant Pb-17Li eutectic for 1000 h at 550 °C was performed using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. The results show that uncoated samples are damaged and suffer loss of material due to a solution process of the steel into the liquid metal, while corrosion process is insignificant for coated samples. Therefore, these results suggest a good performance of the alumina coatings under the test conditions.