Issues Concerning the Oxidation of Ni(Pt)Ti Shape Memory Alloys

The oxidation behavior of the Ni-30Pt-50Ti high temperature shape memory alloy is compared to that of conventional NiTi nitinol SMAs. The oxidation rates were ~1/4 those of NiTi under identical conditions. Ni-Ti-X SMAs are dominated by TiO2 scales, but, in some cases, the activation energy diverges for unexplained reasons. Typically, islands of metallic Ni or Pt(Ni) particles are embedded in lower scale layers due to rapid selective growth of TiO2 and low oxygen potential within the scale. The blocking effect of Pt-rich particles and lower diffusivity of Pt-rich depletion zones are proposed to account for the reduction in oxidation rates.