In vitro corrosion behaviour of surgical 316LVM stainless steel modified by Si+ ion implantation – An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study

This work deals with the surface modification of 316LVM stainless steel by Si+ ion implantation and the in vitro study of its effect on the short-term corrosion behaviour and ion release. In order to achieve a high Si content close to the surface, the experimental set up was designed with different implantation doses, acceleration voltages and angles of incidence. Corrosion tests were carried out by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). A special feature of this paper is the evaluation of the EIS data obtained through a critical analysis of the existing equivalent electrical circuits, in order to establish adequate parameters and scientific criteria to propose a classification of the corrosion response of the investigated surfaces. It has been demonstrated that doses of Si+ ion implantation equal to 2.5 × 1016 ion/cm2 and an acceleration voltages of 50 keV enhanced the corrosion protection. In contrast, higher ion-implantation dose (1 × 1017 ion/cm2) and acceleration voltage (80 keV) produced worse results, probably due to the development of strain induced α’-martensite. The quantity of relevant ions (Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni and Si) released to the medium was determined by an optimized Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) method. It has been shown that a better corrosion resistance is accompanied by a reduction in the amount of ions released.