Effect of Si and Nb additions on carbonitride coatings under proton irradiation: A comprehensive analysis of structural, mechanical, corrosion, and neutron activation properties

In the present study, understoichiometric TiZrCN, TiZrNbCN, and TiZrSiCN coatings were produced using the cathodic arc technique with a C/N ratio of approximately 0.5 to investigate their potential use in nuclear technology. The coatings were evaluated for their corrosion resistance in 3.5 % NaCl and neutron activation. The effect of adding Si and Nb to the quaternary TiZrCN system was also investigated. The results showed that the addition of Si (∼4.64 at.%) to the matrix of TiZrCN improved their electrochemical properties in NaCl solution, the protective efficiency was 92%, while the Nb addition (∼5.5 at%) lead to the decrease in corrosion resistance by 1.39 times comparing with TiZrCN. Furthermore, after fast neutron irradiation at a nominal power of 1450 kW, none of the coatings were activated, indicating good radiation resistance. It was determined from the structural analysis that the Ti6Al4V substrate before corrosion consists of hexagonal and cubic space groups with different lattice parameters. By adding Si and Nb, a small amount of ZrO2 and Si3N4 was detected along with the main phases in the TiZrCN structure.