Corrosion Resistance of AISI 316L Stainless Steel Biomaterial after Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation of Nitrogen

Materials (Basel). 2021 Nov 10;14(22):6790. doi: 10.3390/ma14226790.

Abstract

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of nitrogen is low-temperature surface technology which enables the improvement of tribological properties without a deterioration of the corrosion behavior of austenitic stainless steels. In this paper the corrosion properties of PIII-treated AISI 316L stainless steel surfaces are evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PP) and exposure immersion tests (all carried out in the 0.9 wt. % NaCl solution at 37 ± 0.5 °C) and compared with a non-treated surface. Results of the three performed independent corrosion tests consistently confirmed a significant increase in the corrosion resistance after two doses of PIII nitriding.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel; corrosion resistance; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; plasma immersion ion implantation of nitrogen; potentiodynamic polarization.