Influence of low energy-high flux nitrogen implantation on the oxidation behavior of AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel

The effect of low energy-high flux nitriding on the oxidation of AISI 304L austentic stainless steel was analyzed. The nitrogen implantation was carried out by implanting a dose of 3.5×1019 ions cm-2 at 400°C for one hour. The existence of the hexagonal Cr2N precipitates at the nitrided layer interfacial region was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The implantation-diffusion nitridation treatment led to a significant increase in the surface hardness of the stainless steel. The results show that nitridation modified the oxidation kinetics of the steel due to the progressive transformation of the austentite phase towards CrN precipitation