Influence of N2 Flow and Target-substrate Distance on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance Properties of Multi-arc Ion Plated AlSiN Nano-composite Coatings

doi:10.11902/1005.4537.2024.331

Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection

2025, Vol. 45

Issue (4): 1041-1050 DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2024.331

Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search

Influence of N₂ Flow and Target-substrate Distance on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance Properties of Multi-arc Ion Plated AlSiN Nano-composite Coatings

LI Mao¹, DENG Ke², CHEN Yanxiang², LIU Zhonghao¹, LI Shang¹, GUO Yuting¹, DONG Xuanpu¹, CAO Huatang¹(

)

1 State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
2 Zhuzhou Hanjie Aviation Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Zhuzhou 412002, China

Cite this article:

LI Mao, DENG Ke, CHEN Yanxiang, LIU Zhonghao, LI Shang, GUO Yuting, DONG Xuanpu, CAO Huatang. Influence of N₂ Flow and Target-substrate Distance on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance Properties of Multi-arc Ion Plated AlSiN Nano-composite Coatings. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2025, 45(4): 1041-1050.

Download:

HTML

PDF(14657KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)

Abstract

AlSiN nano-composite coatings were prepared on TC4 Ti-alloy substrate by using multi-arc ion plating technique. The influence of N₂ flow rate and target-substrate distance on their microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance in 3.5%NaCl solution was investigated. The results show that the variation of plating process parameters influence the crystalline growth mode of the AlSiN coating. By longer target-substrate distances and higher N₂ gas flow the prepared AlSiN coatings exhibited higher crystallinity via a columnar grain growth mode, while a dense coating of finer grains or amorphous structure was obtained by shorter distances and lower N₂ gas flow rates. Comparatively, the AlSiN coating of higher crystallinity exhibits higher microhardness and excellent mechanical properties. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was influenced by the combined effects of crystallization growth mode and mechanical properties, namely the crystallization mode may affect the penetration of the corrosive medium and the formation of the surface oxide scale, while the mechanical properties may be related with the strength and the generation of defects of the coating. Electrochemical data indicate that the AlSiN nanocomposite coating prepared by a N₂ flow of 0.15 L/min and a target-substrate distance of 180 mm exhibited the optimal corrosion resistance, showing one order of magnitude reduction in corrosion current density compared to that of the TC4 substrate.

Key words: arc ion plating AlSiN coating corrosion resistance TC4 Ti-alloy

Received: 09 October 2024 32134.14.1005.4537.2024.331

ZTFLH:

TG174

Fund: Liaoning Key Laboratory of Aero-engine Materials Tribology(LKLAMTF202503)

Corresponding Authors: CAO Huatang, E-mail: caoht@hust.edu.cn

	Service

	E-mail this article
	Add to citation manager
	E-mail Alert
	RSS
	（）
	Articles by authors
	LI Mao
	DENG Ke
	CHEN Yanxiang
	LIU Zhonghao
	LI Shang
	GUO Yuting
	DONG Xuanpu
	CAO Huatang

URL:

https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2024.331 OR https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2025/V45/I4/1041

Table 1 Deposition parameters of AlSiN coating by AIP

Fig.1 Surface and cross-sectional morphologies of AlSiN coatings prepared by AIP at the nitrogen flow rates of 0.05 L/min (a1-a3), 0.10 L/min (b1-b3), 0.15 L/min (c1-c3) and 0.20 L/min (d1-d3)

Fig.2 Surface and cross-sectional morphologies of AlSiN coatings prepared by AIP at the target-substrate distances of 180 mm (a1-a3), 260 mm (b1-b3) and 340 mm (c1-c3)

Fig.3 GIXRD patterns of AIP deposited AlSiN coatings under the different conditions of N₂ flow rate (a) and target-substrate distance (b)

Fig.4 Chemical compositions of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP under the different conditions of N₂ flow rate (a) and target-substrate distance (b)

Fig.5 XPS spectra of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP under the different conditions of N₂ flow rate (a) and target-substrate distance (b)

Fig.6 Mechanical properties of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different N₂ flow rates: (a) hardness and elastic modulus,(b) hardness-to-elastic modulus ratio

Fig.7 Mechanical properties of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different target-substrate distances: (a) hardness and elastic modulus, (b) hardness-to-elastic modulus ratio

Fig.8 Open circuit potentials (a) and polarization curves (b) of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different N₂ flow rates

Table 2 Fitting parameters of polarization curves of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different N₂ flow rates

Fig.9 Nyquist (a) and Bode (b, c) plots of AlSIN coatings deposited by AIP at different N₂ flow rates

Fig.10 Equivalent circuit model

Table 3 Fitting data of EIS of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different N₂ flow rates

Fig.11 Open circuit potentials (a) and polarization curves (b) of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different target-to-substrate distances

Table 4 Fitting parameters of polarization curves of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different target-to-substrate distances

Fig.12 Nyquist (a) and Bode (b, c) plots of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different target-substrate distances

Table 5 Fitting data of EIS of AlSiN coatings deposited by AIP at different target-substrate distances

[1]	Pradhan S K, Nouveau C, Vasin A, et al. Deposition of CrN coatings by PVD methods for mechanical application [J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2005, 200: 141
[2]	Khamseh S, Araghi H. A study of the oxidation behavior of CrN and CrZrN ceramic thin films prepared in a magnetron sputtering system [J]. Ceram. Int., 2016, 42: 9988
[3]	Dorcioman G, Socol G, Craciun D, et al. Wear tests of ZrC and ZrN thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition [J]. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2014, 306: 33
[4]	Ding J C, Zhang T F, Mei H J, et al. Effects of negative bias voltage and ratio of nitrogen and argon on the structure and properties of NbN coatings deposited by HiPIMS deposition system [J]. Coatings, 2018, 8: 10
[5]	Bendavid A, Martin P J, Takikawa H. The properties of nanocomposite aluminium-silicon based thin films deposited by ﬁltered arc deposition [J]. Thin Solid Films, 2002, 420-421: 83
[6]	Pélisson-Schecker A, Hug H J, Patscheider J. Morphology, microstructure evolution and optical properties of Al-Si-N nanocomposite coatings [J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2014, 257: 114
[7]	Liu H, Tang W, Hui D, et al. Characterization of (Al, Si)N films deposited by balanced magnetron sputtering [J]. Thin Solid Films, 2009, 517: 5988
[8]	Ding J C, Wang Q M, Liu Z R, et al. Influence of bias voltage on the microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of AlSiN films deposited by HiPIMS technique [J]. J. Alloy. Compd., 2019, 772: 112
[9]	Musil J, Šašek M, Zeman P, et al. Properties of magnetron sputtered Al-Si-N thin films with a low and high Si content [J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2008, 202: 3485
[10]	Gao Z H, Kulczyk-Malecka J, Liu H, et al. An amorphous SiAlN barrier coating against NaCl attack in humid air at elevated temperature [J]. Corros. Sci., 2022, 203: 110321
[11]	Xu X, Li W F, Wan B B, et al. Extremely improved the corrosion resistance and anti-wear behavior of aluminum alloy in 3.5%NaCl solution via amorphous CrAlN coating protection [J]. Corros. Sci., 2024, 230: 111952
[12]	Xu X H, Wu H S, Zhang C J, et al. Morphological properties of AlN piezoelectric thin films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering [J]. Thin Solid Films, 2001, 388: 62
[13]	Rebouta L, Sousa A, Andritschky M, et al. Solar selective absorbing coatings based on AlSiN/AlSiON/AlSiO _y layers [J]. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2015, 356: 203
[14]	Yan Y L, Helfand M A, Clayton C R. Evaluation of the effect of surface roughness on thin film thickness measurements using variable angle XPS [J]. Appl. Surf. Sci., 1989, 37: 395
[15]	Sharma N, Ilango S, Dash S, et al. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies on AlN thin films grown by ion beam sputtering in reactive assistance of N⁺/N 2 + ions: substrate temperature induced compositional variations [J]. Thin Solid Films, 2017, 636: 626
[16]	Bermudo J, Osendi M I, Fierro J L G. Oxygen distribution in AlN and Si₃N₄ powders as revealed by chemical and spectroscopy techniques [J]. Ceram. Int., 2000, 26: 141
[17]	Franklin G E, Rich D H, Hong H, et al. Interface formation and growth of InSb on Si(100) [J]. Phys. Rev., 1992, 45B: 3426
[18]	Li X, Li C X, Chen C K, et al. Adherent and smooth diamond film deposited on stainless steel by using AlSiN interlayers [J]. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2019, 487: 464
[19]	Bozhko I A, Rybalko E V, Kalashnikov M P, et al. Effect of aluminum content on the performance of coatings based on Al-Si-N [J]. Key Eng. Mater., 2016, 685: 591
[20]	Kumar A, Li D Y. Can the H/E ratio be generalized as an index for the wear resistance of materials? [J]. Mater. Chem. Phys., 2022, 275: 125245
[21]	Li Z C, Zhang Y, Wang K H, et al. Highly dense passivation enhanced corrosion resistance of Ti₂AlC MAX phase coating in 3.5wt.%NaCl solution [J]. Corros. Sci., 2024, 228: 111820
[22]	Wu Z, Hu J, Yu L, et al. Corrosion behavior investigation of gallium coating on magnesium alloy in simulated body fluid [J]. J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2023, 27: 225
[23]	Wang Y X, Wang Y X, Chen C L, et al. Preparation of Zr/[Al(Si)N/CrN] coatings of stratified structure and their corrosion-wear performance in artificial seawater [J]. J. Chin. Soc. Corros. Prot., 2022, 42: 345
	(王永欣, 汪艺璇, 陈春林等. 具有“层中层”结构的Zr/[Al(Si)N/CrN]涂层制备及其在海水环境中腐蚀磨损特性 [J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2022, 42: 345) doi: 10.11902/1005.4537.2021.184
[24]	Shi X W. Study of hard yet corrosion resistant for colorful coatings on magnesium alloy surface [D]. Chongqing: Southwest University, 2022
	(史训旺. 镁合金表面“防腐-增硬-显色”功能一体化涂层的研究 [D]. 重庆: 西南大学, 2022)
[25]	Wagner C. Theoretical analysis of the diffusion processes determining the oxidation rate of alloys [J]. J. Electrochem. Soc., 1952, 99: 369
[26]	Geng S J, Wang F H, Zhu S L, et al. Hot corrosion behavior of K38G alloy and its sputtered nanocrystalline coating by pre-deposited sulfate at 900 ℃ [J]. Acta. Metall. Sin. (Eng. Lett.), 2002, 15: 119
[27]	Xu Y K, Liang B J, Gao Y, et al. Pulse electrodeposition of a duplex-layer structured composite nickel-based coating with improved corrosion and abrasion resistance [J]. Ceram. Int., 2024, 50: 1051

[1]	YUE Rui, LIU Yongyong, YANG Lijing, ZHU Xinglong, CHEN Quanxin, A Naer, ZHANG Qingke, SONG Zhenlun. Effect of Laser Surface Remelting on Microstructure and Properties of Biodegradable Zn-0.4Mn Alloy[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(4): 1127-1134.
[2]	ZHOU Qianyong, LAI Yang, LI Qian. Effect of Pickling Process on Corrosion Resistance of Double Cold-reduced Tinplate with Different Tin Coating Masses[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(4): 939-946.
[3]	ZHANG Xiongbin, DANG En, YU Xiaojing, TANG Yufei, ZHAO Kang. Research Status and Progress on Corrosion Performance of Super Martensitic Stainless Steel for Oil and Gas Fields[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(4): 837-848.
[4]	CHEN Yuqiang, RAN Guanglin, LU Dingding, HUANG Lei, ZENG Liying, LIU Yang, ZHI Qian. Effect of Cyclic Strengthening on Corrosion Behavior of 7075 Al-alloy[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(4): 1051-1060.
[5]	RAN Renhao, SHAN Huilin, ZHANG Pengjie, WANG Dongmei, SI Jiajia, XU Guangqing, LV Jun. Preparation and Corrosion Resistance of Surface Mg-alloying NdFeB Magnets[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(4): 1117-1126.
[6]	ZHAO Lijia, CUI Xinyu, WANG Jiqiang, XIONG Tianying. Corrosion Behavior of Cold-sprayed B₄C/Al Composite Coating in Boric Acid Solution[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2025, 45(1): 164-172.
[7]	YI Shuo, ZHOU Shengxuan, YE Peng, DU Xiaojie, XU Zhenlin, HE Yizhu. Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Cu-containing Fe-Mn-Cr-Ni Medium-entropy Alloy Prepared by Selective Laser Melting[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(6): 1589-1600.
[8]	LU Tianai, JIANG Wenhao, WU Wei, ZHANG Junxi. Surface Modification of Corrosion-resistant Cast Iron Based on Functional Requirements of Grounding Materials[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(6): 1443-1453.
[9]	ZHANG Yani, WANG Simin, FAN Bing. Corrosion and Passivation Behavior of TC4 Ti-alloy in a Simulated Downhole Liquid in High-temperature and High-pressed O₂ + CO₂ Environment[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(6): 1518-1528.
[10]	WEI Kezheng, JIANG Wenlong, GONG Yiwei, QIU Xin, DING Hanlin, XIANG Chongchen, WANG Zijian. Effect of Aging Time on Precipitation of Second Phase and Corrosion Performance of Prismatic Plane of As-forged AZ80 Mg-alloy[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(6): 1557-1565.
[11]	MA Jinyao, DONG Nan, GUO Zhensen, HAN Peide. Effect of B and Ce Micro-alloying on Secondary Phase Precipitation and Corrosion Resistance of S31254 Super Austenitic Stainless Steel[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(6): 1610-1616.
[12]	LYU Xiaoming, WANG Zhenyu, HAN En-Hou. Preparation and Corrosion Resistance of Nano-ZrO₂ Modified Epoxy Thermal Insulation Coatings[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(5): 1234-1242.
[13]	CHENG Yonghe, FU Junwei, ZHAO Maomi, SHEN Yunjun. Research Progress on Corrosion Resistance of High-entropy Alloys[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(5): 1100-1116.
[14]	TIAN Mengzhen, WANG Yong, LI Tao, WANG Chuan, GUO Quanzhong, GUO Jianxi. Effect of Electrical Parameters on Energy Consumption and Corrosion Resistance of Micro-arc Oxidation Coating on AZ31B Mg-alloy[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(4): 1064-1072.
[15]	MA Xiaowei, XUE Rongjie, WANG Taotao, YANG Liang, LIU Zhenguang. Comparison of Corrosion Resistance of Zr-based Amorphous Alloys and Traditional Alloys in Seawater[J]. 中国腐蚀与防护学报, 2024, 44(4): 949-956.

No Suggested Reading articles found!

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed