Nitriding Iron at Lower Temperatures
W. P. Tong,1
N. R. Tao,1
Z. B. Wang,1
J. Lu,2
K. Lu1*
The microstructure in the surface layer of a pure iron
plate was refined at the nanometer scale by means of a surface
mechanical attrition treatment that generates repetitive severe plastic
deformation of the surface layer. The subsequent nitriding kinetics of
the treated iron with the nanostructured surface layer were greatly enhanced, so that the nitriding temperature could be as low as 300°C,
which is much lower than conventional nitriding temperatures (above
500°C). This enhanced processing method demonstrates the technological significance of nanomaterials in improving traditional processing techniques and provides a new approach for selective surface
reactions in solids.
1 Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials
Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Shenyang 110016, China.
2 Laboratoire des
Systèmes Mécaniques et d'Ingénierie Simultanée
(LASMIS), University of Technology of Troyes, 10000, Troyes, France.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
lu{at}imr.ac.cn
