Preparation of Fe/Cr doped SiO ₂ thin film on 304 stainless steel substrate originated from corrosion

A Fe/Cr doped SiO2 thin film which can improve the anticorrosion characteristic of materials was prepared on SUS304 stainless steel substrates by a modified hydrothermal method that constitutes a two part preparation process. The corrosion of stainless steel and the dissolution of silica from Na–Ca glass are simultaneously stimulated by an aqueous lithium bromide solution, and then a Fe/Cr doped SiO2 thin film is coated onto the substrate. The Fe/Cr doped SiO2 film was characterised by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron probe X-ray microanalyser. The results showed that the corrosion products and the silica are combined to form a Fe/Cr doped SiO2 thin film. Furthermore, a chemical bond is formed between the silicon coating and the metal that improves the compactness and the adhesive property of the film. The anticorrosion characteristics of the film were measured by the methods of weight loss and electrochemical potentiodynamic polarisation, indicating that the Fe/Cr doped SiO2 thin film can improve the anticorrosion performance of stainless steels effectively.