A comparative study on time-dependent corrosion properties of Ti–B–N films applied by PACVD method
Meisam Mahdavi, Amir Abdollah-zadeh, Hassan Elmkhah
Abstract
This study explores the time-dependent corrosion properties of titanium-boron-nitride (Ti-B-N) film applied through a pulsed-direct current plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) method, comparing their performance with traditional titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium diboride (TiB 2 ) films. The results revealed the nanocomposite structure of Ti-B-N film, characterized by a non-uniform atomic arrangement and irregular atomic distribution of amorphous BN surrounding the TiN nanocrystals. Electrochemical evaluations in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution revealed that after 96 hours of immersion, the Ti-B-N films had a charge transfer resistance (R ct ) of 15980 Ω cm 2 , significantly outperforming TiN at 2755 Ω cm 2 and TiB 2 at 2593 Ω cm 2 . The corrosion current density (i corr ) for Ti-B-N was measured at 0.193 μA/cm 2 , indicating enhanced corrosion resistance compared to 0.413 μA/ cm 2 for TiN and 0.548 μA/ cm 2 for TiB 2 . The remarkable corrosion resistance of the Ti-B-N film is ascribed to its low surface roughness (R a = 0.1 μm), optimal thickness (875 nm), and dense nanocomposite architecture.