Improving the Surface Performance of Discarded AISI T1 Steel by Cathodic Reduction and Thermal Diffusion-Based Boriding

The surface properties of discarded glass cutting scissors were improved by modifying their surfaces via a fast, low-cost, and environmentally friendly boron diffusion technique called as cathodic reduction and thermal diffusion-based boriding (CRTD-Bor) process. The kinetic calculations revealed the activation energy of boride growth on discarded AISI T1 steel as 179 kJ/mole. XRD analyses demonstrated the existence of iron borides along with previously formed carbides and the cross-sectional SEM investigations with EDS analyses confirmed these multiple borides and carbide structures. Phase homogenization (PH) stages were integrated into CRTD-Bor to eliminate the brittle FeB layer. After the optimizations, it was achieved to grow ~ 24 µm thick Fe₂B layer, exhibiting 1700 ± 200 HV hardness with good adhesion (HF1) to the substrate following to 60 min of treatment (15 min CRTD-Bor and 45 min PH at 900 °C). The idealized boriding procedure improved the oxidation resistance of the discarded T1 steels by tenfold. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]