Plasma nitriding of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steels at anodic potential

► AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel was effectively plasma nitrided at the anodic potential. ► The edge effect associated with conventional plasma nitriding could be completely avoided. ► A nitrided layer consisted of 3-layered structure was produced at the high temperatures (510-540 °C). ► The high temperature nitrided samples still showed excellent corrosion resistance in 3.5% NaCl solution