Effect of cold deformation on pitting corrosion of 00Cr18Mn15Mo2N0.86 stainless steel for coronary stent application

The high nitrogen nickel-free stainless steel has offered an alternative to further improve the performance of the coronary stents, and simultaneously avoids the potential harms of nickel element. Both cold deformation and pitting corrosion are very important for coronary stents made of stainless steel. In this work, the effect of cold deformation on the pitting corrosion resistance of a high nitrogen nickel-free stainless steel (00Cr18Mn15Mo2N0.86) in 0.9% saline solution was investigated. The results showed that the pitting corrosion of the steel was nearly unchanged with increases of the cold deformation up to 50%, indicating that the higher nitrogen content can reduce the negative effect of cold deformation on the pitting corrosion resistance, which is beneficial for the long term service of coronary stents in blood vessel.