Improvement in corrosion resistance of CrN coated stainless steel by conformal TiO₂ deposition

A conformal titanium dioxide (TiO₂) layer was deposited onto chromium nitride (CrN) coated stainless steel by atomic layer deposition technique, and the electrochemical corrosion test on the CrN single-layer and TiO₂/CrN double-layer coated sample was carried out. The equilibrium corrosion potential of the double-layer coated sample shifted positively compare to that of the single-layer coated one. Moreover, the corrosion current density decreased significantly with the TiO₂ deposition, revealing that better corrosion resistance was obtained after the deposition of the TiO₂ layer. The improvement in corrosion resistance after the TiO₂ deposition was attributed to the blocking of the through-thickness cracks or pinholes in the CrN layer.