Corrosion resistance of CrN and CrCN/CrN coatings deposited using cathodic arc evaporation in Ringer's and Hank's solutions

• CrN and CrCN/CrN coatings were deposited using cathodic arc evaporation.
• The corrosive properties were determined in Hank's and Ringer's solutions.
• Corrosion characteristics of as deposited and polished coatings were compared.
• 10-times lower icorr for coated substrate compared to the reference substrate
• The corrosion parameters for polished coatings are slightly worse than unpolished.

This paper presents the corrosion resistance of CrN monolayer coatings and CrCN/CrN multilayer coatings deposited by cathodic arc evaporation onto X39Cr13 stainless steel. Corrosion tests of the coating-substrate systems were conducted in Ringer's and Hank's solutions, usually used as infusion liquids. The parameters such as corrosion potential, corrosion current density and polarisation resistance were determined on the basis of the potentiodynamic polarisation curves. The corrosion properties of coatings in as-deposited state and after the polishing were compared. The results show that coated substrates are characterised by under half the corrosion potential and 10-times lower corrosion current density compared to the reference substrate (without coating). The corrosion parameters for polished coatings are slightly worse than unpolished, which is related to the method of coating deposition. The amount and distribution of macroparticles on the surface of the tested coatings are also presented.