Improvement in the tribocorrosion performance of CrCN coating by multilayered design for marine protective application

• Published in: Applied surface science 2020-10, Vol.528, p.147061, Article 147061
• Main Authors: Wang, Yongxin, Zhang, Jingwen, Zhou, Shengguo, Wang, Yuecheng, Wang, Chunting, Wang, Yixuan, Sui, Yongfeng, Lan, Jibing, Xue, Qunji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CrN/CrCN multilayer; Marine environment; Tribocorrosion behavior
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147061

[Display omitted] •The CrN, CrCN monolayer and CrN/CrCN multilayer coatings were fabricated on 316L stainless steel by multi-arc ion plating.•The CrN/CrCN multilayer coatings exhibited the outstanding adhesion strength and excellent tribocorrosion resistance.•The multilayer architecture design could prevent and/or slow corrosive media from reaching the substrates. Steel structures significantly degrades owing to tribology and corrosion in aggressive marine environment and is unavoidable. Chromium nitride (CrN) based coatings material has aroused great interest as one of the most promising protective system in the marine equipment or its components. In the present study, we provided insights for the tribocorrosion mechanism of CrN and CrCN monolayers as well as CrN/CrCN multilayered coatings deposited on steel substrates via a multi-arc ion method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) revealed that the design of multilayer structure could interrupt the continuous growth of columnar crystals and making the coating denser. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed the CrN/CrCN multilayered coating presented a high content of graphite-like phase and hard Cr-C compounds, which might play a key role enhancing lubrication and hardness. In particular, tribocorrosion tests in artificial seawater showed that the as-deposited CrN/CrCN multilayered coating could demonstrate significant improvement of tribocorrosion resistance compared to the CrN and CrCN monolayers coatings. The corresponded mechanisms were discussed in term of the coatings microstructure and tribocorrosion behaviors.