Corrosion and wear resistance of carbon films obtained by electrodeposition on ferritic stainless steel

In improving the corrosion and hardness proprieties of ferritic stainless steel, the use of protective coatings becomes an interesting alternative. In this study, a carbon layer was deposited on AISI 430 by electrodeposition using N,N-dimethylformamide with the addition of an organic dopant as the electrolyte. The AISI 430 stainless steel was pretreated by anodization aiming to optimize the film anchoring. The obtained films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, by scanning electron microscopy and by optical interferometry. The microstructural characterization of the films was obtained by Raman Spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by open circuit potential and by potentiodynamic polarization. The friction test and the scratch test were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties. The Raman spectroscopy showed the presence of an amorphous carbon film. The films improved the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. In addition, on the wear analysis the coating showed a good adhesion on the substrate