| Summary: | The tribological behavior of hot-rolled and boronized Fe<sub>40</sub>Mn<sub>20</sub>Cr<sub>20</sub>Ni<sub>20</sub> high-entropy alloys (HEAs) sliding against a Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> ball was investigated in the air, deionized water and seawater. The results showed that the hot-rolled Fe<sub>40</sub>Mn<sub>20</sub>Cr<sub>20</sub>Ni<sub>20</sub> HEA was composed of an FCC (face-centered cubic) phase. In addition, the boronized HEA was composed of a great number of borides, including CrB, FeB, MnB, Fe<sub>2</sub>B, Fe<sub>3</sub>B and MnB<sub>2</sub>. The hardness increased from 139 HV to 970 HV after boronizing. In air, the wear rate decreased from 4.51 × 10<sup>−4</sup> mm<sup>3</sup>/Nm to 0.72 × 10<sup>−4</sup> mm<sup>3</sup>/Nm after boronizing. The wear mechanism transformed from abrasive wear and oxidative wear to the polishing effect. After boronizing, in the deionized water, the wear rate decreased from 1.27 × 10<sup>−4</sup> mm<sup>3</sup>/Nm to 8.43 × 10<sup>−5</sup> mm<sup>3</sup>/Nm. The wear mechanism transformed from abrasive wear and delamination wear to delamination wear. In the seawater, the wear rate decreased by about ten times that of hot-rolled alloy.
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