Use of ion implantation in high temperature corrosion studies

Ion implantation has an important role in corrosion science as a research tool for studying the influence of various elements on the corrosion behaviour of materials. In the present paper this is illustrated by some high temperature corrosion applications, namely its use for studying the mechanisms underlying the so called reactive element effect, for developing more corrosion resistant TiAl based intermetallic alloys, and for addressing mechanistic questions concerned with mixed oxidation/sulphidation. It is shown that ion implantation can be a very efficient screening technique for evaluating the effect of possible alloying additions in materials. Additionally, it can play a role in studying the underlying corrosion mechanisms. It is concluded that ion implantation is a powerful tool in high temperature corrosion studies, and can be very helpful for material development. (author)