Localized Corrosion of Nanocrystalline 304 Type Stainless Steel Films

Abstract Nanocrystalline (grain size approximately 25 nm) stainless steel films were prepared by sputter-depositing the conventional 304 type stainless steel on glass substrates. Despite the same chemical composition, the breakdown potential (Eb) of the sputtered stainless steel films is found to be approximately 850 mV higher than that of the conventional material. Also, the breakdown potentials of the sputtered nanocrystalline stainless steel films are close to those of the amorphous FeCr18Ni9W11 and FeCr10P13C7 alloys reported in the literature. The high corrosion resistance of the sputtered films is attributed to the smaller grain size of the films.