Corrosion resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel biomaterial after plasma immersion ion implantation of nitrogen

Abstract

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of nitrogen is low‐temperature surface technology which enables the improvement of tribological properties without a deterioration of the corrosion behavior of austenitic stainless steels. In this paper the corrosion properties of PIII‐treated AISI 316L stainless steel surfaces are evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), poten-tiodynamic polarization (PP) and exposure immersion tests (all carried out in the 0.9 wt. % NaCl solution at 37 ± 0.5 °C) and compared with a non‐treated surface. Results of the three performed independent corrosion tests consistently confirmed a significant increase in the corrosion resistance after two doses of PIII nitriding.