Nitriding of technical-purity titanium in hollow-cathode glow discharge

The process of nitriding at low pressures and temperatures (≤550°C) in hollow-cathode glow discharge plasma was studied for technical-purity titanium of the VT1-0 commercial grade. The diffusion saturation of titanium with nitrogen in plasma with a concentration of n = 1010–1011 cm−3 takes place at an ion current density on the cathode within 1.6–4.0 mA/cm2. It is established that a key role in the process of metal saturation is played by atomic nitrogen. The experiments revealed the formation of a layer of gradient structure with a high microhardness (∼14 GPa) on the surface of nitrided titanium.