Scale composition and oxidation mechanism of the Ti–46Al–8Nb alloy in air at 700 and 800 °C

It is known that the oxide scale formed on TiAl alloys is generally composed of a mixture of alumina (Al2O3) and titania (TiO2). The presence of niobium changes the activities of Ti and Al and influences the kinetics of oxidation and oxide layer composition. In this work, the Tie46Ale8Nb alloy was subjected to cyclic oxidation in air at 700 � C (for 2 and 24 h) and 800 � C (for 300 h). Scale composition was analyzed by means of different techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The scale consisted of several layers. The outer layer was built of alumina (amorphous or with very fine grains), whereas the inner layer e mainly …