TEM and AES investigations of the natural surface nano-oxide layer of an AISI 316L stainless steel microfibre

Dhanya Ramachandran; Ricardo Egoavil; Amandine Crabbe; Tom Hauffman; Artem Abakumov; Johan Verbeeck; Isabelle Vandendael; Herman Terryn; Dominique Schryvers

doi:10.1111/jmi.12434

TEM and AES investigations of the natural surface nano-oxide layer of an AISI 316L stainless steel microfibre

J Microsc. 2016 Nov;264(2):207-214. doi: 10.1111/jmi.12434. Epub 2016 Jun 17.

Authors

Dhanya Ramachandran¹, Ricardo Egoavil¹, Amandine Crabbe², Tom Hauffman², Artem Abakumov¹, Johan Verbeeck¹, Isabelle Vandendael², Herman Terryn², Dominique Schryvers³

Affiliations

¹ Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
² Department of Materials and Chemistry (MACH), Research group Electrochemical and Surface Engineering (SURF), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
³ Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. nick.schryvers@uantwerpen.be.

PMID: 27313097
DOI: 10.1111/jmi.12434

Abstract

The chemical composition, nanostructure and electronic structure of nanosized oxide scales naturally formed on the surface of AISI 316L stainless steel microfibres used for strengthening of composite materials have been characterised using a combination of scanning and transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray, electron energy loss and Auger spectroscopy. The analysis reveals the presence of three sublayers within the total surface oxide scale of 5.0-6.7 nm thick: an outer oxide layer rich in a mixture of FeO.Fe₂ O₃ , an intermediate layer rich in Cr₂ O₃ with a mixture of FeO.Fe₂ O₃ and an inner oxide layer rich in nickel.

Keywords: AES; EDS; EELS; TEM; composite; corrosion; fibre; steel.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't