REACTION STEPS OF A FORMATION OF THE BLACK LAYER BEIWEEN IRON NTIRIDE AND TiN COATING

The interfacial structure of duplex treated AISI 4140 consisting of iron nitride and TiN layer was characterized by optical microscope, SEM and XRD. A black layer was formed from the decomposition of iron nitride during Ti ion bombardment. The black layer was characterized as an a-Fe phase transformed from the iron nitride by XRD. In order to identify the formation mechanism of the black layer, a thermal analysis of iron nitride undertaken by DSC method. As an iron nitride was mostly consisted of ${\gamma}$'-Fe$_4$N and $\varepsilon$-$Fe_3$N phase after plasma nitriding, in this study, a ${\gamma}$'$-Fe_4$N and $\varepsilon$-$Fe_3$N powders were separately prepared by the different processing conditions of gas nitriding of iron powder in the fluidized bed. From the DSC thermal analysis, the phase transformation of ${\gamma}$'$-Fe_4$N, $\varepsilon$-$Fe_3$N was followed the path of transformation; $ \Upsilon{'}-Fe_4$Nlongrightarrow${\gamma}$-Felongrightarrowa-Fe and of $\varepsilon$-$Fe_3$Nlongrightarrow$\varepsilon$-$Fe_{2.5}$ /N+${\gamma}$'$-Fe_4$Nlongrightarrow${\gamma}$'-Fe$_4$Nlongrightarrow${\gamma}$longrightarrowFelongrightarrowalongrightarrowFe, respectively. It explains the reason why the $\varepsilon$ $-Fe_3$N phase disappeared in the first time and then ${\gamma}$'-Fe$_4$N in the formation of the black layer in the duplex coating.