Comparative study between the electrochemical behavior of TiN, TiCxNy and CrN hard coatings by using microscopy and electrochemical techniques

Hard thin TiN, TiCxNy and CrN films deposited by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques onto steel substrates were immersed in an aggressive environment and evaluated by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The mechanical and electrochemical behavior, as well as the microstructure of TiCxNy depended directly on the contents of carbon and nitrogen in the coating. The best results were obtained with stoichiometric coatings that are presented in this work. Although a small amount of pinholes could be observed, the electrochemical performance of TiN film was poorer than the stoichiometric TiCxNy coating. However, the CrN films showed the highest initial and residual corrosion resistance values, probably due to their dense structure.