{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:45:06Z","timestamp":1760060706500,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758499200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Canon Electron Tubes &amp; Devices Co., Ltd."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gallium-based liquid metal is corrosive to steel alloys, forming FeGa3 surface films which can potentially be applied as a solid lubricant to enhance wear resistance and mitigate liquid metal-induced corrosion. However, the characteristics of these films remain insufficiently explored. In this study, Ga-In-Sn alloy was ultrasonically soldered onto annealed and decarburised substrates, followed by heating in a vacuum chamber to form a 30 \u03bcm thick FeGa3 reaction layer. The film on the annealed samples with an alpha-ferrite microstructure exhibited high porosity and a surface roughness of 1.97 Ra. In contrast, the film on the decarburised samples with a ferritic microstructure showed minimal porosity and a lower surface roughness of 1.29 Ra. Nanoindentation tests revealed Young modulus values of 231 GPa and 242 GPa and hardness values of 11.4 GPa and 12.7 GPa for the annealed and decarburised samples, respectively. The high porosity in the annealed samples is attributed to the suppression of FeGa3 formation in regions containing chromium carbides. Shear stress for fracture, measured by microcantilever tests at the interface between the substrate and the inner matrix of the surface film, showed lower fracture shear stress in the annealed sample, attributed to the presence of larger pores within its microstructure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18184427","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T17:08:17Z","timestamp":1758560897000},"page":"4427","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Investigation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of FeGa3 Surface Film on SKD11 Substrate"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7562-7655","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roonie","family":"Protasius","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4982-257X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Masaki","family":"Tanaka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0360-1859","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shigeto","family":"Yamasaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2978-7623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatsuya","family":"Morikawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2293-0546","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kazuyuki","family":"Yagi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Masahiko","family":"Tezuka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Next LM Development Department, X-Ray Tube Engineering Division, Canon Electron Tubes & Devices Co., Ltd., 1385, Shimoishigami, Otawara-shi 324-8550, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yasufumi","family":"Yoshida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Next LM Development Department, X-Ray Tube Engineering Division, Canon Electron Tubes & Devices Co., Ltd., 1385, Shimoishigami, Otawara-shi 324-8550, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yukinari","family":"Yoshida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Next LM Development Department, X-Ray Tube Engineering Division, Canon Electron Tubes & Devices Co., Ltd., 1385, Shimoishigami, Otawara-shi 324-8550, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Makoto","family":"Higashionna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Next LM Development Department, X-Ray Tube Engineering Division, Canon Electron Tubes & Devices Co., Ltd., 1385, Shimoishigami, Otawara-shi 324-8550, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20113","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.1c05859","article-title":"Critical Review on the Physical Properties of Gallium-Based Liquid Metals and Selected Pathways for Their Alteration","volume":"125","author":"Stadler","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matlet.2018.05.111","article-title":"A Protective FeGa3 film on the steel surface prepared by in-situ hot-reaction with liquid metal","volume":"228","author":"Guo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mater. Lett."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Behling, R. (2021). Modern Diagnostic X-Ray Sources, CRC Press. [2nd ed.].","DOI":"10.1201\/9781003095408"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.triboint.2018.08.003","article-title":"Ga-based liquid metal with good self-lubricity and high load-carrying capacity","volume":"129","author":"Cheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Tribol. Int."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Miller, E.C. (1952). Corrosion of Materials by Liquid Metals. Liquid-Metals Handbook, Springer."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1557\/JMR.1999.0099","article-title":"Corrosion of martensitic and austenitic steels in liquid gallium","volume":"14","author":"Barbier","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Mater. Res."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"141","article-title":"The System Iron-Gallium","volume":"286","author":"Dasarathy","year":"1965","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. A"},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"1","article-title":"Gallium-Rich Films as Boundary Lubricants in Air and in Vacuum to 10\u22129 mm Hg","volume":"6","author":"Buckley","year":"1963","journal-title":"Tribol. Trans."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luebbers, P.R., Michaud, W.F., and Chopra, O.K. (1993). Compatibility of ITER Candidate Structural Materials with Static Gallium, Argonne.","DOI":"10.2172\/10148729"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wu, H., Mao, H., Ning, H., Deng, Z., and Wu, X. (2023). Friction Behavior and Self-Lubricating Mechanism of SLD-MAGIC Cold Worked Die Steel during Different Wear Conditions. Metals, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/met13040809"},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Lindersson, S. (2014). Reactivity of Galinstan with Specific Transition Metal Carbides, Uppsala Universitet."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"787","DOI":"10.1139\/cjc-2020-0227","article-title":"Effect of static liquid Galinstan on common metals and non-metals at temperatures up to 200 \u00b0C","volume":"98","author":"Geddis","year":"2020","journal-title":"Can. J. Chem."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnucmat.2011.12.007","article-title":"A study on corrosion behavior of austenitic stainless steel in liquid metals at high temperature","volume":"422","author":"Shin","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Nucl. Mater."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Iqbal, A.A., and Lim, M.J. (2023). A relationship of porosity and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered scandia stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coating. Results Eng., 19.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rineng.2023.101263"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kumar, S., and Aswal, D.K. (2020). Recent Advances in Thin Films, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-15-6116-0"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-8922(08)70398-5","article-title":"A methodology for coating selection","volume":"25","author":"Matthews","year":"1993","journal-title":"Tribol. Ser."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kiryukhantsev-Korneev, P., Sytchenko, A., Pogozhev, Y., Vorotilo, S., Orekhov, A., Loginov, P., and Levashov, E. (2021). Structure and properties of zr-mo-si-b-(N) hard coatings obtained by d.c. magnetron sputtering of zrb2-mosi2 target. Materials, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma14081932"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zu, H., He, Z., He, B., Tang, Z., Fang, X., Cai, Z., Cao, Z., and An, L. (2023). Effect of Metallic Coatings on the Wear Performance and Mechanism of 30CrMnSiNi2A Steel. Materials, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma16186191"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"569","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pnsc.2018.08.006","article-title":"Spontaneous Ga whisker formation on FeGa3","volume":"28","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prog. Nat. Sci. Mater. Int."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.1557\/JMR.2005.0048","article-title":"Measuring fracture toughness of coatings using focused-ion-beam-machined microbeams","volume":"20","author":"Roberts","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Mater. Res."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mwema, F.M., Jen, T.-C., and Zhu, L. (2022). Thin Film Coatings: Properties, Deposition, and Applications, CRC Press.","DOI":"10.1201\/9781003202615"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1744-7402.2005.02043.x","article-title":"An ASTM standard for quantitative scratch adhesion testing of thin, hard ceramic coatings","volume":"2","author":"Gonczy","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fischer-Cripps, A.C. (2011). Nanoindentation, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4419-9872-9"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.2109\/jcersj2.19030","article-title":"Measurement of mechanical properties of BaTiO3 layer in multi-layered ceramic capacitor using a microcantilever beam specimen","volume":"127","author":"Yamaguchi","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tanaka, M., Takenaka, M., Yamasaki, S., and Morikawa, T. (2023). Micromechanical testing for quantitative characterization of apparent slip system: Extinction of persistence of slip in carbon bearing Fe-3% Si. Scr. Mater., 232.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scriptamat.2023.115473"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Qin, Y. (2015). FIB Micro-\/Nano-Fabrication, Springer. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tanaka, M., Okajo, S., Yamasaki, S., and Morikawa, T. (2021). Persistent slip observed in TiZrNbHfTa: A body-centered high-entropy cubic alloy. Scr. Mater., 200.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scriptamat.2021.113895"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"472","DOI":"10.3323\/jcorr1991.50.472","article-title":"Effects of Temperature and Atmosphere for Dissolution of Cr Carbide Precipitate near the Surface on Fe-Cr-C alloy","volume":"50","author":"Takahashi","year":"2001","journal-title":"Zairyo-to-Kankyo"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Auger, T., Baiz, S., Bataillou, L., and Klochko, A. (2022). Liquid metal embrittlement of molybdenum by the eutectic gallium-indium-tin alloy. Materialia, 25.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mtla.2022.101523"},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"(1997). Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS)\u2014Surface Texture: Profile Method\u2014Terms, Definition and Surface Texture Parameters (Standard No. ISO 4287:1997)."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"(1996). Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS)\u2014Surface Texture: Profile Method\u2014Rules and Procedures for the Assessment of Surface Texture (Standard No. ISO 4288:1996)."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"(2017). Alloy Tool Steels (Standard No. JIS G 4404:2017)."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1107\/S1600576722000139","article-title":"ReciPro: Free and open-source multipurpose crystallographic software integrating a crystal model database and viewer, diffraction and microscopy simulators, and diffraction data analysis tools","volume":"55","author":"Seto","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Appl. Crystallogr."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jain, A., Ong, S.P., Hautier, G., Chen, W., Richards, W.D., Dacek, S., Cholia, S., Gunter, D., Skinner, D., and Ceder, G. (2013). Commentary: The materials project: A materials genome approach to accelerating materials innovation. APL Mater., 1.","DOI":"10.1063\/1.4812323"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1850","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cageo.2011.03.002","article-title":"JPOR: An ImageJ macro to quantify total optical porosity from blue-stained thin sections","volume":"37","author":"Grove","year":"2011","journal-title":"Comput. Geosci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.2089","article-title":"NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis","volume":"9","author":"Schneider","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat. Methods"},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Scherrer, P. (1918). Bestimmung der Gr\u00f6sse und der inneren Struktur von Kolloidteilchen mittels R\u00f6ntgenstrahlen. G\u00f6ttinger Nachrichten Ges., 2."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ali, A., Chiang, Y.W., and Santos, R.M. (2022). X-Ray Diffraction Techniques for Mineral Characterization: A Review for Engineers of the Fundamentals, Applications, and Research Directions. Minerals, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/min12020205"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1080\/10408436.2014.940442","article-title":"Measurement of residual stresses using nanoindentation method","volume":"40","author":"Zhu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yu, J.-H., Xu, H.-X., Ye, X.-X., Leng, B., Qiu, H.-X., and Zhou, X.-T. (2024). Corrosion behavior of pure metals (Ni and Ti) and alloys (316H SS and GH3535) in liquid GaInSn. Nucl. Sci. Tech., 35.","DOI":"10.1007\/s41365-024-01413-5"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhu, W., Yuan, G., Tan, J., Chang, S., and Tu, S. (2023). The Influence of Crystallographic Orientation and Grain Boundary on Nanoindentation Behavior of Inconel 718 Superalloy Based on Crystal Plasticity Theory. Chin. J. Mech. Eng., 36.","DOI":"10.1186\/s10033-023-00921-6"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"410","DOI":"10.1016\/j.crme.2015.06.004","article-title":"A new method to determine the true projected contact area using nanoindentation testing","volume":"343","author":"Guillonneau","year":"2015","journal-title":"Comptes Rendus M\u00e9canique"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Goryacheva, I., and Yakovenko, A. (2024). Modeling of the Combined Effect of the Surface Roughness and Coatings in Contact Interaction. Lubricants, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/lubricants12030068"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matdes.2016.05.029","article-title":"Fracture toughness enhancement of brittle nanostructured materials by spatial heterogeneity: A micromechanical proof for CrN\/Cr and TiN\/SiOx multilayers","volume":"104","author":"Daniel","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mater. Des."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.15446\/dyna.v87n213.82924","article-title":"Mechanical characterization of the aisi 316l alloy exposed to boriding process","volume":"87","year":"2020","journal-title":"DYNA"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Furukimi, O., Kabasawa, H., Yamamoto, M., Protasius, R., and Tanaka, M. (2024). Enhancing Wear Resistance in Functionally Graded Metallic Components: Insights from Nanoindentation and Mechanical Analysis. Materials, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma17071567"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bruhns, O.T. (2003). Advanced Mechanics of Solids, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-05271-6"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ternero, F., Rosa, L.G., Urban, P., Montes, J.M., and Cuevas, F.G. (2021). Influence of the total porosity on the properties of sintered materials\u2014A review. Metals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/met11050730"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yuan, Z., Jiang, Z., Zhou, Z., Wang, H., Li, J., Cai, Z., Xing, Z., Ding, C., and Piao, Z. (2024). Effect of surface roughness on friction and wear behavior of GCr15 bearing steel under different loads. Surf. Sci. Technol., 2.","DOI":"10.1007\/s44251-024-00057-2"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, C., Zhang, J., Le, K., Niu, Y., Gao, X., Che, Q., Xu, S., Liu, Y., and Liu, W. (2023). Effect of Substrate Roughness and Contact Scale on the Tribological Performance of MoS2 Coatings. Lubricants, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/lubricants11050191"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Terek, P., Kova\u010devi\u0107, L., Terek, V., Bobi\u0107, Z., Mileti\u0107, A., \u0160kori\u0107, B., \u010cekada, M., and Drnov\u0161ek, A. (2024). Surface Roughness and Its Effect on Adhesion and Tribological Performance of Magnetron Sputtered Nitride Coatings. Coatings, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings14081010"}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/18\/18\/4427\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:47:14Z","timestamp":1760035634000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/18\/18\/4427"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]]},"references-count":51,"journal-issue":{"issue":"18","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ma18184427"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma18184427","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1996-1944"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]]}}}