Ionic bombardment of stainless steel by nitrogen and nickel ions immersion

A new nitriding process was used to carry out the ionic bombardment, in which nickel ion was introduced. The microstructure, composition and properties of the treated stainless steel were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy(SEM), micro-hardness test and electrochemistry method. The results show that the hardness of the stainless steel is greatly increased after ionic bombardment under nitrogen and nickel ions immersion. Vickers' hardness as high as Hv1268 is obtained. The bombarded stainless steel is of a little reduction in corrosion resistance, as compared with the original stainless steel. However, as compared with the traditional ion-nitriding stainless steel, the corrosion resistance is greatly improved.