Investigation on the structural properties and corrosion inhibition of W coatings on stainless steel AISI 304 using PF device

In this paper, thin films of tungsten are coated on 304 type stainless steel substrates using a low energy (1.6 kJ) plasma focus device. 35 focus shots are applied each at 6, 8, 10 and 12 cm axial distances from the top of the anode and at 0° angular position with respect to anode axis to deposit the W films on SS-304 substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the degree of crystallinity of W films strongly depends on axial distances from the anode tip. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results demonstrate that the sample deposited at 8 cm distance has a relatively smooth, uniform and homogeneous surface. Also, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis reveals the existence of the elemental composition of W in the exposed samples. The corrosion test of samples shows that the highest corrosion resistance belongs to the sample deposited at 8 cm distance. Moreover, in order to observe the effect of corrosion on the surface of samples, we have utilized SEM analysis after the corrosion test.