A study on comparing surface characterization and electrochemical properties of single-layer CrN coating with nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution

• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2020.100721
• Publication Date: 2020-09-30T10:50:05Z
• Authors: Parviz Mohamadian...; Arash Fattah-alho...; Hassan Elmkhah; Omid Imantalab; Meisam Nouri
• Keywords: Physical vapor deposition

Abstract The electrochemical behavior of single-layer CrN and nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coatings, deposited on AISI 304 by arc-physical vapor deposition (Arc-PVD) process, was investigated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution using impedance and polarization measurements. The microstructure of both coatings were analyzed using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The polarization measurements showed that for the nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating, the corrosion potential shifted to greater potentials in comparison to the single layer CrN. In addition, the density of the corrosion current decreased for the nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating which represents a higher resistance to corrosion. The nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating demonstrated a superior corrosion resistance compared to the CrN single layer coating. The mean values of elastic modulus and hardness of the nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating were larger than those of the single layer CrN coating. Also, surface roughness (Ra) of the nanostructured multilayer ZrN/CrN coating was less than the single layer CrN.