High entropy alloys represent a unique class of metal alloys, comprising nominally five or more elements in near equiatomic proportions. High entropy alloys have gained significant interest on the basis that the high configurational entropy of such alloy systems is purported to result in a single-phase solid solution structure. While such a single-phase structure can occur in unique systems, it is now appreciated that the definition of high entropy alloys can be broader, with systems comprising only four elements possible of forming single phases, and most five (or more) element systems actually being multi (>2) phases. To this end, the notion of compositionally complex alloys is a more general description, with the concise review herein focusing on the corrosion of compositionally complex alloys (inclusive of high entropy alloys). It is noted that generally, in spite of complex compositions and in many cases complicated microstructural heterogeneity, compositionally complex alloys are nominally corrosion-resistant. This is discussed and aspects of the status and needs are presented.

The present paper reports on the electrochemical properties of a wide range of high entropy alloys (HEAs) in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. A consolidated treatise of the topic has to date been lacking, and the purpose of the work herein is to present a primitive galvanic series for numerous HEAs, along with a broad survey of results typifying their electrochemical characteristics, passivity and comparative electrochemistry. The results are coupled with microstructural characterisation. The range of potentials for HEAs is comparable to or nobler than austenitic stainless steel, with a number of HEAs displaying higher pitting potential ( E_pit) values than stainless steels, in spite of possessing heterogeneous microstructures.