Localized corrosion of nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon films on the surface of 304 stainless steel

Nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon (N-DLC) films with different nitrogen content were prepared on the surface of 304 stainless steel (SS) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technology. Localized failure mechanisms of the N-DLC films under long-term exposure to sodium chloride solutions have been investigated. The results demonstrated that nitrogen doping significantly affected the failure behavior of the N-DLC films. When undoped, the number of pore defects in the film is high, providing a channel for the corrosive medium to attack the substrate metal. Meanwhile, due to the high internal stress within the undoped film, extensive exfoliation of the film occurred under the effect of the growth of oxides at the film-substrate interface. The DLC film on 304 SS is subject to stress corrosion cracking failure during long-term service in sodium chloride solution. However, when nitrogen doping is 10 sccm, the pH of the micro-zone solution was highly variable due to the dissolution of nitrogen in the film and the processes of formation and hydrolysis of NH4+. A large number of residual metal cations dissolved from the substrate combine with oxygen at the corrosion pits mouth to form oxides. This can aggravate the occlusion effect of the pits and severe pitting corrosion of 304 SS occurs under autocatalytic effects. The N-DLC film with 5 sccm nitrogen addition showed the excellent durability properties. The evolution mechanism of oxidation and dissolution behaviors in the presence of variations in local hydrochemistry is also discussed.