Influence of N+ ion implantation at different temperatures on nanostructural modifications and characteristics of Al alloy surface

Thick (3.0 mm) Al samples (7049 an alloy with 15 elements) were implanted by N⁺ ions of 30 keV energy and fluence of 5 × 10 ¹⁷ N⁺ cm^?2 at different temperatures. The surface modification of the samples was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis. XRD spectra of the samples clearly showed the formation of different phases of AlN. Crystallite sizes (coherently diffracting domains) obtained from AlN diffraction lines showed that at a certain substrate temperature the crystallite size decreases considerably. AFM images showed the formation of grains on Al samples, and it was observed that both grain size and sample surface roughness first decrease and then increase with temperature (i.e. a minimum at a certain temperature is observed). In addition at this temperature, a minimum of intensity is also observed for the intensity of different phases of AlN and the intensity ratio of AlN (200)/AlN (311). This phenomenon is similar to those obtained for thin films and pure metal foils though the sample studied in this work is an Al alloy and the minimum for Al occurred at a value three times larger than that reported for the above cases. Alloy nature of this sample with 14 elements is responsible for the observed results because they may act as defects. Results may also be affected by the residual gases, substrate temperature, dissociation of water in the chamber and the ion energy. Results also showed that the processes of Al nitride and Al oxide formations are competing with each other; decrease of aluminium nitride phases are associated with increase of aluminium oxide phases.     

强流脉冲离子束辐照对不锈钢耐腐蚀性能的影响

 利用强流脉冲离子束（HIPIB）对316L不锈钢进行了表面辐照处理,研究了HIPIB辐照对其在0.5mol/L H2SO4溶液中电化学腐蚀性能的影响。极化曲线测量结果表明,HIPIB辐照能够显著提高316L的抗腐蚀性能,自腐蚀电流对辐照次数的依赖性与自腐蚀电位相比明显较强。采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线衍射（XRD）和电子探针（EPMA）分析辐照后试样表面形貌、表面层相结构和元素分布的变化。结果表明：HIPIB辐照使试样表面光滑化,表面层产生择优取向,且发生了杂质元素的选择性烧蚀,是316L不锈钢耐电化学腐蚀性能得以提高的主要原因。     

The influence of implanted yttrium on the cyclic oxidation behaviour of 304 stainless steel

High-temperature alloys are frequently used in power plants, gasification systems, petrochemical industry, combustion processes and in aerospace applications. Depending on the application, materials are subjected to corrosive atmospheres and thermal cycling. In the present work, thermal cycling was carried out in order to study the influence of implanted yttrium on the oxide scale adherence on 304 steel specimens oxidised in air at 1273 K. In situ X-ray diffraction indicates that the oxides formed at 1273 K are different on blank specimens compared to implanted specimens. Glancing angle XRD allows to analyse the oxide scale composition after cooling to room temperature.Experimental results show that yttrium implantation at a nominal dose of 10¹⁷ ions cm⁻² does not improve significantly the cyclic oxidation behaviour of the austenitic AISI 304 steel. However, it appears that yttrium implantation remarkably enhance the oxidation resistance during isothermal oxidation. It reduces the transient oxidation stage and the parabolic oxidation rate constant by one order of magnitude.     

Influence of treating frequency on microstructure and properties of Al2O3 coating on 304 stainless steel by cathodic plasma electrolytic deposition

Alumina ceramic coatings were fabricated on 304 stainless steel by cathodic plasma electrolytic deposition (CPED). Influence of treating frequency of the power supply on the microstructure and properties of the coatings were studied. The results indicated that coatings obtained at various frequencies on 304 stainless steels were all composed of α-Al₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃, and α-Al₂O₃ was the dominant phase. The contents of α-Al₂O₃ decreased gradually in a very small rate with increasing the frequency and γ-Al₂O₃ gradually increased. The surface of alumina ceramic coating was porous. With increasing the frequency, the coating surface gradually became less rough and more compact, resulting in low surface roughness. The bonding strength of Al₂O₃ coating was higher than 22 MPa and was not strongly affected by treating frequency. With increasing the frequency, the alumina coated steels showed better and gradually increasing corrosion resistance than the uncoated one in 3.5% NaCl solution. The coating steel with desirable corrosion resistance was obtained at 800 Hz whose corrosion current potential and corrosion density were −0.237 V and 7.367 × 10⁻⁸ A/cm², respectively.     

Influence of Cu ion implantation on the microstructure and cathodoluminescence of ZnS nanostructures

The microstructure and optical properties of as-synthesized and Cu ion implanted ZnS nanostructures with branched edges are studied by using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) and spatially-resolved cathodoluminescence measurement. Obvious crystalline deterioration has been observed in Cu-doped ZnS nanostructures due to the invasion of Cu ions into ZnS lattice. It was found that the optical emissions of ZnS nanostructures can be selectively modified through the control of Cu ion dose and subsequent heat treatment. An increase of Cu dopant content will lead to an apparent red-shift of the intrinsic band-gap emission in the UV range and the broadening of defect-related emission in visible range. The influences of Cu ion implantation on the microstructure and related optical properties were discussed.     

Effect of deposition condition on residual stress of iron nitride thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering and ion implantation

The surface roughness and residual stress development in Fe-N thin films prepared by compound technology—combining magnetron sputtering with plasma based ion implantation were investigated by means of atomic force microscope and synchrotron radiation. The results indicate that the grain size of the thin film increases with the increasing of nitrogen ion implantation time, and the state of residual stress is related closely to the formation mechanism of thin films. With the nitrogen ion implantation time increasing, the residual stress of the thin film changes into tensile stress from initial compressive stress, and the tensile stress decreases with the further increasing of ion implantation time.     

Formation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film on the NiTi alloys via plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) for improving corrosion resistance

NiTi alloys are potentially useful in biomedical application due to their unique superelasticity and shape memory effect. However, the materials are vulnerable to surface corrosion and the most serious issue is out-diffusion of toxic Ni ions from the substrate into body tissues and fluids. In this paper, Diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is fabricated on the NiTi alloys using plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) at room temperature to improve their corrosion resistance and block the out-diffusion of the Ni ions. The results show that the DLC films cannot only improve the corrosion resistance of the NiTi substrate, but also effectively suppress the Ni ions release from the substrate. The reason that the corrosion resistance of the coated samples is markedly improved due to the DLC films formation is systematically investigated.     

Influence of Ni and N on generalized stacking-fault energies in Fe-Cr-Ni alloy: A first principle study

The alloying effects of Ni and N were examined in terms of the generalized stacking-fault (SF) energy (GSFE). GSFE is associated with the basal plane of Fe-Cr-Ni austenitic stainless steel. The GSFE profiles were obtained using first-principle calculations. The results show that Ni increases the intrinsic SF energy γ_isf and the unstable SF energy γ_us. N does the opposite. However, a γ_isf/γ_us ratio close to zero accompanies the addition of Ni or N. This ratio implies that deformation by partial dislocation is preferred. Overall, the effect of N on Fe-Cr-Ni alloys is more evident than that of Ni.     

Influence of nitrogen ion implantation fluences on surface structure and tribological properties of SiC ceramics in water-lubrication

Nitrogen ions were implanted into SiC ceramics by using ion implantation technology (N⁺-SiC). The surface structure and chemical bonds of N⁺-SiC ceramics were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and their nanohardness was measured by nanoindenter. The friction and wear properties of the N⁺-SiC/SiC tribo-pairs were investigated and compared with those of SiC/SiC tribo-pairs in water using ball-on-disk tribo-meters. The wear tracks on the N⁺-SiC ceramics were observed by non-contact surface profilometer and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and their wear volumes were determined by non-contact surface profilometer. The results show that the N⁺-SiC ceramics were mainly composed of SiC and SiCN phase and SiN, CC, CN and CN bonds were formed in the implantation layer. The highest hardness of 22.3 GPa was obtained as the N⁺-SiC ceramics implanted at 50 keV and 1 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm². With an increase in nitrogen ion fluence, the running-in period of N⁺-SiC/SiC tribo-pairs decreased, and the mean stable friction coefficient decreased from 0.049 to 0.024. The N⁺-SiC ceramics implanted at 50 keV and 5 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² exhibited the excellent tribological properties in water. In comparison of SiC/SiC ceramic tribo-pairs, the lower friction coefficient and lower wear rate for the N⁺-SiC/SiC tribo-pairs were acquired.     

Role of chromium ion implantation on the corrosion behavior of zirconium in 1N H2SO4

In order to study the effect of chromium ion implantation on the aqueous corrosion behavior of zirconium, specimens were implanted by chromium ions with a dose range from 1×10¹⁶ to 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm², using MEVVA source at an extracted voltage of 40 kV. The valence and elements penetration distribution of the surface layer were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and auger electron spectroscopy (AES), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the micro-morphology and microstructure of chromium-implanted samples. The potentiodynamic polarization measurement was employed to value the aqueous corrosion resistance of zirconium in a 1N H₂SO₄ solution. It was found that a significant improvement was achieved in the aqueous corrosion resistance of zirconium compared with that of as-received zirconium. The mechanism of the corrosion resistance improvement of chromium-implanted zirconium is probably due to the addition of the chromium oxide dispersoid into the zirconium matrix.     

Effect of surface nanocrystallization induced by fast multiple rotation rolling on hardness and corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel

A nanostructured layer was fabricated by using fast multiple rotation rolling (FMRR) on the surface of 316L stainless steel. The microstructure in the surface was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The effects of FMRR on the microhardness, surface roughness and corrosion behavior of the stainless steel were investigated by microhardness measurements, surface roughness measurements, potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests. The surface morphologies of pitting corrosion specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that FMRR can cause surface nanocrystallization with the grain size ranges from 6 to 24 nm in the top surface layer of the sample. The microhardness of FMRR specimen in the top surface layer remarkably increases from 190 to 530 HV. However, the surface roughness slightly rises after FMRR treatment. The potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests indicated that the FMRR treated 316L stainless steel with a surface nanocrystallized layer reduced the corrosion resistance in a 3.5% NaCl solution and enhanced the pitting corrosion rate in a FeCl₃ solution. Possible reasons leading to the decrease in corrosion resistance were discussed.     

Influence of annealing temperature on the nanostructure and corrosivity of Ti/stainless steel substrates

Titanium films of 80 nm thickness were deposited on stainless steel type 304, and they were post-annealed under flow of oxygen at different temperatures. The prepared samples were corrosion tested in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ solution using potentiodynamic and galvanometric polarization technique. The variation of corrosion resistance of these samples showed that the optimum annealing temperature is 473 K. The reduction of corrosion resistance of the sample with increasing the temperature above 473 K is attributed to the phenomena which are confirmed by AFM results: (a) increase of surface roughness, and (b) formation of larger grains with large grooves between them on the film surface. Hence larger effective surfaces for chemical reactions are provided. The films’ crystallographic and morphological structures were analysed using XRD and AFM, respectively before corrosion test and SEM after corrosion test. It is observed that the crystallographic structure of the film goes through a sudden change at 943 K annealing temperature and three phases of titanium oxide (i.e., rutile, anatase and brookite) are formed.     

Influence of the Ar8+ and O6+ ion implantation on the recombination parameters of p and n type implanted Si samples investigated by means of the photothermal infrared radiometry

This paper presents the influence of Ar⁸⁺ and O⁶⁺ ion implantation on the recombination parameters of n and p type Si samples. These parameters were determined from the fitting of theoretical characteristics to the experimental photothermal radiometric (PTR) characteristics. We found that with the increasing ion implantation doses (i) the changes of the bulk recombination lifetimes and the carrier diffusivity were not observed; (ii) the increasing of the surface recombination velocities and the parameter A were observed. This paper also proves that it is possible to interpret the experimental PTR characteristics with a relatively simple effective model of a PTR signal.     

Synergism between rare earth cerium(IV) ion and vanillin on the corrosion of steel in H2SO4 solution: Weight loss, electrochemical, UV-vis, FTIR, XPS, and AFM approaches

The synergism between rare earth cerium(IV) ion and vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde) on the corrosion of cold rolled steel (CRS) in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ solution at five temperatures ranging from 20 to 60 °C was first studied by weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization methods. The inhibited solutions were analyzed by ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometer (UV-vis). The adsorbed film of CRS surface containing optimum doses of the blends Ce⁴⁺-vanillin was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The results revealed that vanillin had a moderate inhibitive effect, and the inhibition efficiency (IE) increased with the vanillin concentration. The adsorption of vanillin obeyed Temkin adsorption isotherm. Polarization curves showed that vanillin was a mixed-type inhibitor in sulfuric acid, while prominently inhibited the cathodic reaction. For the cerium(IV) ion, it had a negligible effect, and the maximum IE was only about 20%. However, incorporation of Ce⁴⁺ with vanillin improved significantly the inhibition performance. The IE for Ce⁴⁺ in combination with vanillin was higher than the summation of IE for single Ce⁴⁺ and single vanillin, which was synergism in nature. A high inhibition efficiency, 98% was obtained by a mixture of 25-200 mg l⁻¹ vanillin and 300-475 mg l⁻¹ Ce⁴⁺. UV-vis showed that the new complex of Ce⁴⁺-vanillin was formed in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ for Ce⁴⁺ combination with vanillin. Polarization studies showed that the complex of Ce⁴⁺-vanillin acted as a mixed-type inhibitor, which drastically inhibits both anodic and cathodic reactions. FTIR and XPS revealed that a protective film formed in the presence of both vanillin and Ce⁴⁺ was composed of cerium oxide and the complex of Ce⁴⁺-vanillin. The synergism between Ce⁴⁺ and vanillin could also be evidenced by AFM images. Depending on the results, the synergism mechanism was discussed from the viewpoint of adsorption theory.