| abstract |
Chain element (2), particularly a chain pin (4) for joining at least two chain links (3), which element is formed from a base material (5) containing carbon, particularly steel, characterized in that it has a surface layer (7) containing boron and vanadium, wherein the surface layer (7) is produced by means of a method according to which, in a first method step, an inter-layer (6) containing carbon and vanadium is formed by at least one measure for the diffusion of vanadium in near-surface regions of the base material (5) and, in a subsequent second method step, the surface layer (7) is formed by the transformation of the inter-layer (6) by at least one measure for the diffusion of boron into the inter-layer (6). |