Electrochemical behavior of (Cr,W, Al,Ti, Si)N multilayer coating on nitrided AISI 316L steel in natural seawater

AISI 316L steel is often used in materials applied toward nuclear power but are subjected to pitting corrosion in a marine environment. In this study, (Cr, W, Al, Ti, Si)N multilayer coatings were deposited using multi-arc ion plating on the surface of non-nitrided and nitrided AISI 316L steel. The microstructure and corrosion resistance of four different systems were investigated, namely, (i) untreated AISI 316L steel, (ii) plasma nitrided (PN), (iii) coated on an untreated matrix (coating) only, and (iv) coated on nitrided (hybrid) specimens. The phase structures, morphologies, and compositions of the different specimens were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, Atomic Force Microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The results show that a thin CrWAlTiSiN multilayer coating, approximately 2.3 μm in thickness, is deposited on the surface of an ~12 μm nitrided layer. Potentio-dynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to evaluate the assessment of the electrochemical behavior in the natural seawater of China's Yellow Sea. The hybrid specimens exhibited excellent corrosion resistance compared to both the nitrided and coated specimens.