Surface evaluation of carbon steel doped with nitrogen ions

This studyproposes by meansof analytical characterization techniques, astructural evaluation of the surfacemodification of aferrous material bythree-dimensionalion implantationplasma technology.Carbon steel substrates immerse in a gaseous atMo sphere,were surface implantedwith nitrogen ionsvia high voltage pulse discharges activated at a low-pressure range (“high vacuum”).The effect of the surface treatment on the structure, composition and morphology of the substrates was verified by microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. From the micrographs obtained by scanning electronic microscopy and the analysis elemental by energy dispersive spectroscopy the morphology and nitrogen concentration of thetreated and non-treated samples wereanalyzedand compared. As for the elemental analysis by energy dispersive spectroscopy, nitrogen concentration in the implanted substrates were detected and determinedat a relatively low amount. In regard to the X-raydiffraction results, a decrease in the intensity of the (110), (200)and (211)planes of the treated substratecompared with the reference substrate,wasobserved. Theanalysis ofphases-formation onthe surface materialperformed by Raman spectroscopy, identified mainly ferric oxy-hydroxidestypical uniform corrosion products.