The corrosion and corrosion–wear behaviour of plasma nitrided 17-4PH precipitation hardening stainless steel

Plasma surface nitriding of 17-4 PH martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steels was conducted at 350 °C, 420 °C and 500 °C for 10 h using a DC plasma nitriding unit, and the surface properties of the plasma surface engineered samples were systematically evaluated. Experimental results have shown that the surface properties of the plasma nitrided layers in terms of hardness, wear resistance, corrosion behaviour and corrosion–wear resistance are highly process condition dependent, and it is feasible to provide considerable improvement in wear, corrosion and corrosion–wear resistance of 17-4PH steel using optimised plasma treatment conditions. All three treatments can effectively improve the surface hardness and the sliding wear resistance under unlubricated conditions; high temperature (420 °C and 500 °C) treated materials revealed improved corrosion and corrosion–wear properties due to the formation of surface compound layers.