Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Borided CoCrMo Alloy Immersed in Hanks’ Solution

New results about the corrosion resistance of borided CoCrMo alloy exposed to the Hanks’ solution during different days were estimated by means of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique. The CoB-Co₂B coating was developed on the surface of the borided alloy using the powder-pack boriding process at 1223 K during 6 h of exposure. The corrosion resistance of the borided cobalt alloy was evaluated by the fitting of suitable equivalent electrical circuits using Nyquist and Bode plots to obtain the electrochemical parameters; the results were compared with the CoCrMo (non-borided) alloy. The samples (borided and non-borided) were characterized by the scanning electron microscopy and by the energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry techniques to determine the elemental chemical composition developed on the surface of the materials. In addition, the reaction products formed on the surface of the borided CoCrMo alloy exposed to the Hanks’ solution after the tenth day of immersion were analyzed by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of the borided cobalt alloy was affected (or reduced) by the presence of B₂S₃ and CrPO₄ clusters formed on the material’s surface. Finally, the electrochemical reactions developed during the immersion of the borided cobalt alloy on the tenth day of exposure were proposed according to the XPS results.