Investigation of the corrosion resistance of ZrCN hard coatings fabricated by advanced controlled arc plasma deposition

In order to investigate the corrosion resistance of the commercialized hard coatings in decorative application, the standard optimized process developed in Hauzerʹs advanced controlled cathodic-arc (ACA) plasma deposition system for mass production was employed to fabricate ZrCN coatings on mechanical-polished brasses with or without electroplated Ni/Cr multi-layers. The cathodic polarization analyses were carried out in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions to study the corrosion resistance of ZrCN coatings. From the polarization curves, it can be concluded that both the high-quality ZrCN coating and the smoothness of the base materials are crucial to reduce the corrosion.