Phase Composition of Al-Si Coating from the Initial State to the Hot-Stamped Condition

The chemical and phase composition of the coating and the coating/substrate interface of an Al-Si-coated 22MnB5 hot stamped steel was investigated by means of SEM-EDS, XRD, micro-XRD and electron diffraction. Moreover, the surface profile was analyzed by XPS and roughness measurements. The XPS measurements showed that the thickness of the Si and Al oxide layers increased from 14 to 76 nm after die-quenching, and that the surface roughness increased as well as a result of volume changes caused by phase transformations. In addition to the FeAl(Si) and Fe(2)Al(5) phases and the interdiffusion layer forming complex structures in the coating, electron diffraction confirmed the presence of an Fe(2)Al(5) phase, and also revealed very thin layers of Fe(3)(Al,Si)C, Fe(2)(Al,Si)(5) and Al-bearing rod-shaped particles in the immediate vicinity of the steel interface. Moreover, the scattered nonuniform layer of the Fe(2)Al(8)Si phase was identified in the outermost layer of the coating. Despite numerous studies devoted to researching the phase composition of the Al-Si coating applied to hot stamped steel, electron diffraction revealed very thin layers and particles on the coating/substrate interface and outermost layer, which have not been analyzed in detail.