The possibility of using an aqueous non-toxic electrolyte of ammonium nitrate and glycerin for the cathodic plasma electrolytic nitrocarburizing of low-carbon steel is considered in this paper. Surface morphology and roughness, element and phase compositions, and microhardness of the modified layer were investigated. Kinetic calculations of the processes of nitrogen and carbon diffusion into the steel surface are proposed, taking into account their mutual influence. Wear resistance was studied under dry friction conditions with tool alloy steel as a counter-body. Corrosion studies are performed using potentiodynamic polarization curves in 3.5% sodium chloride solution. The plasma electrolytic nitrocarburizing in an aqueous electrolyte with ammonium nitrate and glycerin is established to increase surface hardness up to 980 HV due to the formation of a nitrocarburized layer with 1.35 ± 0.12% carbon and 0.32 ± 0.08% nitrogen concentration. The influence of erosion in electrolyte plasma and high-temperature oxidation on the morphology and surface roughness is shown. The presence of a dense oxide layer, low surface roughness, and high hardness of the diffusion layer favor a decrease in the friction coefficient by 1.3 times, weight wear by 1.8 times and corrosion current density by 1.4 times.

The paper considers the problem of increasing the wear resistance of steel products. For the first time, the technology of anodic plasma electrolytic sulfiding is proposed to increase the wear resistance of low-carbon steel. The composition, structure, and frictional properties of modified surface layers after sulfiding have been studied. The type and mechanism of wear are determined. The influence of the sliding speed of the sample over the counter body on the friction and wear resistance of the samples after processing is analyzed. The possibility of saturation of low-carbon steel with sulfur in an electrolyte with sulfur compounds is shown. The iron sulfide FeS in the surface layer is found. It has been established that the thickness of the sulfide zone and the relative amount of FeS in it have a positive effect on reducing the coefficient of friction and mass wear. The greatest decrease in the friction coefficient by 5.5 times and weight wear by 64 times occurs after sulfiding at 500 °C for 10 min. It was found that the mechanism of wear of sulfided samples is fatigue wear during dry friction and plastic contact.

The results of modifying the surface of austenitic stainless steel by anodic plasma electrolytic treatment are presented. Surface treatment was carried out in aqueous electrolytes based on ammonium chloride (10%) with the addition of ammonia (5%) as a source of nitrogen (for nitriding), boric acid (3%) as a source of boron (for boriding) or glycerin (10%) as a carbon source (for carburizing). Morphology, surface roughness, phase composition and microhardness of the diffusion layers in addition to the tribological properties were studied. The influence of physicochemical processes during the anodic treatment of the features of the formation of the modified surface and its operational properties are shown. The study revealed the smoothing of irregularities and the reduction in surface roughness during anodic plasma electrolytic treatment due to electrochemical dissolution. An increase in the hardness of the nitrided layers to 1450 HV with a thickness of up to 20–25 μm was found due to the formation of iron nitrides and iron-chromium carbides with a 3.7-fold decrease in roughness accompanied by an increase in wear resistance by 2 orders. The carburizing of the steel surface leads to a smaller increase in hardness (up to 700 HV) but a greater thickness of the hardened layer (up to 80 μm) due to the formation of chromium carbides and a solid solution of carbon. The roughness and wear resistance of the carburized surface change are approximately the same values as after nitriding. As a result of the boriding of the austenitic stainless steel, there is no hardening of the surface, but, at the same time, there is a decrease in roughness and an increase in wear resistance on the surface. It has been established that frictional bonds in the friction process are destroyed after all types of processing as a result of the plastic displacement of the counter body material. The type of wear can be characterized as fatigue wear with boundary friction and plastic contact. The correlation of the friction coefficient with the Kragelsky–Kombalov criterion, a generalized dimensionless criterion of surface roughness, is shown.

The technology for duplex treatment of a commercially pure titanium surface is expected to increase hardness and wear resistance. This technology consists of sequential nitrocarburizing and polishing of the product in plasma electrolysis. The mechanism of duplex processing is revealed; it consists of strengthening the surface layers under diffusion saturation and controlled formation of the surface relief. The possibility of controlling the characteristics of the modified surface by combining various plasma technologies is shown. The morphological features of the surface and the surface layer after treatment were studied. The microhardness of the modified layer and the tribological properties of the surface were measured. It has been established that the samples with the highest surface layer hardness and a small thickness of the oxide layer on the surface have the highest wear resistance. After nitrocarburizing at 750 °C for 5 min, wear resistance increases by 4.3 times compared to pure material. If subsequent polishing is carried out at a voltage of 275–300 V for 3–5 min in chloride and fluoride electrolytes and 5–10 min in a sulfate electrolyte, then wear resistance can be further increased. This is achieved by removing the porous outer oxide layer.