Development of Microstructured Carbon Coatings by Substrate-Catalytic CVD

Carbon nanostructured films were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on H18 stainless steel (AISI 440C) sheets with an H2/CH4/N2 gas mixture at various substrate temperatures. During the synthesis, the iron and chromium oxide layer was formed between the steel and carbonaceous layer. The carbon films exhibited wall-like and spherical morphologies and structures, as characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the synthesis temperature affects the microsphere density and, therefore, also in the electrochemical behavior. The electrochemical behavior of nanostructured carbon coatings strongly depends on the CVD deposition conditions. The best corrosion resistance (Rp = 11.8 MΩ·cm2, Icorr = 4.4 nA·cm−2) exhibits a nanostructured carbon sample with a moderate amount of sp2-C-rich carbon microspheres CμSs synthesized at 700 °C. The corrosion resistance of the nanostructured carbon coating is better than raw stainless steel.