Influence of corrosion on the morphology and structure of ZrOxNy-ZrN coatings deposited on stainless steel

Morphological and structural changes of zirconium nitride and oxynitride thin films (ZrOxNy/ZrN) deposited via DC magnetron sputtering on stainless steel substrates (AISI 316L, 304LS, and 2205) in a reactive N-2 and N-2/O-2 atmosphere mixed with argon were studied. The crystallographic structures of the films were established through X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology was evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the corrosion resistance was evaluated using electrochemical techniques based on linear polarization (PL). The XRD analysis showed that the films were composed of cubic ZrOxNy and monoclinic ZrO2. The electrochemical test showed that there was corrosion because of pitting phenomena and delamination in the coating deposited on AISI 2205 and AISI 304LS substrates. For AISI 316L, the damage generated by the corrosive solution was less. On the various substrates, an increase in the films' roughness was observed after the corrosion test. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.