Direct current and pulsed direct current plasma nitriding of ferrous materials a critical review

Nowadays, the improvement of ferrous materials performance is a problem of high interest. One of well-known wear- and corrosion properties improving technique is plasma nitriding, in which elemental nitrogen is introduced to the surface of a metal part for subsequent diffusion into the material. As a result, a compound, “white” layer and a diffusion zone are formed at the detail’s surface. Most of the authors positively describe the effects of surface ion nitiding. On the other hand, there are also reports on adverse effects of direct current and pulsed direct current plasma nitriding on ferrous materials performance. Therefore, an attempt to provide comprehensive summary on direct current and pulsed direct current ion nitriding and its influence on ferrous materials’ mechanical and corrosion properties has been made. According to the results, some of the technique drawbacks are hard to avoid in mass production.