Microstructure and properties of CrCN coating on 316L stainless steel

CrCN coating is deposited on 316L stainless steel and single crystal silicon by Multi-Arc ion plating technique. Microstructures, mechanical performance, corrosion resistance and tribological properties in ambient air, distilled water and seawater are systematically investigated by XRD, XPS, SEM, nano-indentation and ballon-disc tribol-meter. The results show that hardness of CrCN coating, deposited on 316L stainless steel, increases from 4 GPa to 22 GPa, H/E and H3/E2 increased from 0.022 and 0.002 GPa to 0.071 and 0.11 GPa, relatively. The anode corrosion potential increases from -2.1 V to -1.9 V, the friction coefficient and wear ratio in ambient air, distilled water and seawater can all be significantly reduced. In other words, the coated 316L stainless steel shows a better comprehensive performance than uncoated one.