Study on corrosion resistance of palladium films on 316L stainless steel by electroplating and electroless plating

Palladium films with good adhesive strength were deposited on 316L stainless steel by electroless plating and electroplating. Scanning electronic microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, weight loss tests and electrochemical methods were used to study the properties of the films. The electroless plated palladium film mainly consisted of palladium, phosphorus and nitrogen, and the electroplated palladium film was almost pure palladium. XPS analysis indicated that palladium was present in the films as metal state. The palladium plated stainless steel samples prepared by both methods showed excellent corrosion resistance in strong reductive corrosion mediums. In boiling 20% dilute sulfuric acid solution, the corrosion rates of the palladium plated 316L stainless steel samples were four orders of magnitude lower than that of the original 316L stainless steel samples. In the solution with 0.01 M NaCl, the palladium plated samples also showed better corrosion resistance. In comparison, the electroplated samples showed slightly better corrosion resistance than electroless plated samples, which may be attributed to less impurities and thereby higher corrosion potential for the former.