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Structure, mechanical and corrosion properties of DC reactive magnetron sputtered aluminum nitride (AlN) hard coatings on mild steel substrates

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Abstract

Aluminum nitride (AlN) coatings of about 2 μm thick were deposited on mild steel (MS) by means of direct current (DC) reactive magnetron sputtering. AlN coatings were prepared in an Ar + N2 gas mixture and their crystal structure, microstructure, and topography were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. XRD revealed that the films are polycrystalline in nature and have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a predominant peak observed along the (002) plane. SEM and AFM images showed the presence of continuously covered pebble like spherical grains on the surface. These coatings showed lower coefficient of friction and excellent wear resistance compared to the bare MS substrate. The potentiodynamic polarization studies showed lower corrosion current density and higher polarization resistance for the AlN/MS structure than the uncoated MS substrate.

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Acknowledgement

One of the authors (B.S) thanks the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Mumbai, for a research grant (Sanction No 2006/37/37/BRNS/2068).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ECMS Division, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, 630 003, India

    B. Subramanian, K. Ashok & M. Jayachandran

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  1. B. Subramanian
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  2. K. Ashok
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  3. M. Jayachandran
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Correspondence to B. Subramanian.

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Subramanian, B., Ashok, K. & Jayachandran, M. Structure, mechanical and corrosion properties of DC reactive magnetron sputtered aluminum nitride (AlN) hard coatings on mild steel substrates. J Appl Electrochem 38, 619–625 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9480-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9480-z

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