The halogen effect in the oxidation of intermetallic titanium aluminides

Stoichiometric TiAl and two quasi-technical TiAl alloys were investigated in the temperature range of 800-1000°C with regard to the halogen microalloying effect on oxidation resistance. The halogens Br, Cl, F and I were introduced into the material surface by ion implantation with different doses and energies before the thermogravimetric oxidation experiments were started. The results show that a very low “homeopathic” amount of these halogens at the oxide scale/metal interface activates a mechanism of selective Al-oxidation which changes oxidation behavior from fast mixed titania/alumina kinetics to slow pure alumina kinetics. A model is described which explains this change in kinetics supported by quantitative data from thermodynamic calculations. The halogen microalloying effect offers a high potential for the improvement of oxidation resistance of TiAl alloys for technical applications.