Search

This work is to deposit (CrNbTiAlV)CN/MoN coatings by alternating sputtering with multiple targets. The hardness and elastic modulus of the (CrNbTiAlV)CN/MoN multilayer coatings gradually increase with the decreasing of the modulation period from 420 to 110 nm; however, the values decrease on the multilayer coating with a modulation period of 50 nm. As the modulation period decreases, the characteristic of MoO3 debris changes from large flakes to smooth transfer tribolayers and then to small particles. The coating with a modulation period of 110 nm has a minimum friction coefficient and wear rate of about 0.11 and 4.4 × 10–6 mm3/(N m) at 500°C, respectively. This can be attributed to the fact that it has the best resistance to plastic deformation and tends to form smooth transfer tribolayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of V doping on the microstructure, chemical stability, mechanical and vacuum tribological behavior of sputtered MoS2 coatings. Design/methodology/approach: The MoS2-V coatings are fabricated via tuning V target current by magnetron sputtering technique. The structural characteristic and elemental content of the coatings are measured by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, electron probe X-ray micro-analyzer, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. The hardness of the deposited coatings are tested by a nanoindentation technique. The vacuum tribological properties of MoS2-V coatings are studied by a ball-on-disc tribometer. Findings: Introducing V into the MoS2 coatings results in a more compact microstructure. The hardness of the coatings increases with the doping of V. The MoS2-V coating deposited at a current of 0.2 A obtains the lowest friction coefficient (0.043) under vacuum. As the amount of V doping increases, the wear rate of the coating decreases first and then increases, among which the coating deposited at a current of 0.5 A has the lowest wear rate of 2.2 × 10–6 mm3/N·m. Originality/value: This work elucidates the role of V doping on the lubrication mechanism of MoS2 coatings in a vacuum environment, and the MoS2-V coating is expected to be applied as a solid lubricant in space environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thick diamond‐like carbon (DLC) coatings with different silicon (Si) transition layer thickness are deposited by hollow cathode plasma immersion coating technology. The results show that the internal stress of the coating can be tuned by changing the deposition time of Si transition layer, thereby obtaining good adhesion strength. Friction and wear results show that all coatings have good tribological properties. The coating with 8 min Si transition layer (Si‐8) demonstrates the lowest friction coefficient (μ ≈ 0.03), even achieves ultralow friction (μ ≈ 0.008) for a short time. However, the wear rate of Si‐8 coating is found to be the largest (2.1 × 10−16 m3 (N m)−1. The low friction coefficient of Si‐8 coating is related to its high degree of graphitization, complete transfer film and fine wear debris. In contrast, the Si‐16 coating has the lowest wear rate of about 5.6 × 10−17 m3 (N m)−1 with a relatively high friction coefficient (μ ≈ 0.1). This is due to its high hardness and the formation of a nano‐twisted double helix carbon debris during the friction process. This nano‐twisted double helix structure can consume additional plastic deformation energy, while reducing the interface contact area and increasing the interface bearing capacity, thereby improving the wear resistance of the thick DLC coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, as an excellent wear-resistant and low friction material, have been successfully applied as the surface protection and lubrication of various components. Recently, its application in the pipe fittings has gradually attracted the attention of the industry. In this paper, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technology was used to deposit a thick Si/Si-DLC/DLC multilayer composite coating inside a high aspect ratio pipe. The experimental results showed that the structures and properties of coatings strongly depended on deposition pressures. As the deposition pressure increased, the average thickness of the coating increased from 17 μm (50 mTorr) to 21.2 μm (110 mTorr) and its uniformity deviation continued to decreased until the pressure exceeded 100 mTorr, which reached the minimum value of 35.3%. When the deposition pressure rose, the coating hardness peaked at about 18.11 GPa (70 mTorr), and then it decreased to 14.86 GPa (110 mTorr). The friction coefficient and wear rate of the coating first decreased to 0.12 and 7.37 × 10−9 mm3/Nm (70 mTorr), respectively, and then slightly increased as the deposition pressure increased. In addition, the DLC coating we deposited also achieved a high adhesion strength of about 32 N (70 mTorr). In summary, the coating prepared at 70 mTorr had the best overall performance and was promised to be applied in pipeline protection industry. Unlabelled Image • Thick Si/Si-DLC/DLC multilayer coatings were deposited inside of long pipes by PECVD method. • The thickness and uniformity of the coating increase as the deposition pressure increases. • The coating prepared at 70 mTorr has the best tribological and mechanical performance • The main wear mechanism of thick DLC coatings is plowing and flaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mo x N coatings are deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). It is found that the Mo x N coatings prepared by HiPIMS has a denser microstructure, higher hardness and wear resistance. Besides, the effect of peak current is investigated with respect to the microstructure, mechanical properties and tribological behavior of the coatings. As the peak current increases, the cross-sectional morphology of the coating transforms from featureless to columnar morphology, and the preferred orientation of the coating gradually transfers from (111) to (200). However, the hardness of the coating is not significantly influenced by the peak current. The Mo x N coating with a peak current of 260 A owns a low friction coefficient of 0.28, which is better than that of the Mo x N coating prepared by DCMS. The Mo x N coating with a peak current of 300 A provides excellent wear resistance with the lowest wear rate of 5 × 10−8 mm3/(Nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Coating oxidation performance is a major concern in modern machining and other high temperature applications. This study presents TiAlCrN composite coatings with different Cr content prepared on a magnetron sputtering device. SEM, AFM and XRD were used to determine the structure of the coatings. It was found that the coatings show a solid solution of B1-NaCl face-centered cubic structure with [200] preferential orientation. As the Cr content increases, the particle size and roughness of the coating increase slightly, while the hardness of the coating decreases. Oxidation tests revealed that no significant oxidation occurs in all coatings below 800 °C. However, as the oxidation temperature increases to 1000 °C, the Ti 0.32 Al 0.38 Cr 0.30 N coating undergoes severe oxidation and the Ti 0.17 Al 0.19 Cr 0.64 N coating remains good. The oxide scale of the coatings after oxidation test is analysis by XPS depth profiling in details. XPS results revealed that the oxide scale of the Ti 0.32 Al 0.38 Cr 0.30 N coating changes from a dense Al rich oxide layer (800 °C) to a loose and discontinuous Ti Al rich oxide layer (1000 °C), which is the main reason for its poor oxidation resistance. However, the Ti 0.17 Al 0.19 Cr 0.64 N coating shows a top loose Ti Al rich oxide layer and a dense bottom Cr Al rich oxide layer. The presence of this dense and continuous Cr Al rich oxide layer can limit the rapid diffusion of Ti atoms to the surface while preventing the oxygen atoms from diffusing into the interior, which is the key to excellent oxidation resistance of the Ti 0.17 Al 0.19 Cr 0.64 N coatings. Highlights • The oxide scale of TiAlCrN coating was characterized by XPS depth profiling. • As the chromium content increases, the oxidation resistance of the TiAlCrN coating increases. • The excellent oxidation resistance strongly depended on the compact Cr Al rich oxide layer. • The presence of the Cr Al rich oxide layer can limit the rapid diffusion of Ti atoms to the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High surface quality coatings play an important role in producing high precision coating tools for micromachining. This study focuses on the improvement of the coating surface quality by layered design method. The layered TiAlTaN/Ta coatings have been prepared by magnetron sputtering. SEM and AFM results revealed that the continuous growth of the columnar TiAlTaN crystals can be interrupted by layered design. The columnar crystal size of TiAlTaN coating decreased with the decreasing bilayer thickness. The coating surface roughness also gradually decreased from 36.6 ± 1.2 to 11.54 ± 0.6 to 8.9 ± 0.1 nm. Nanoidentation results showed an increasing coating hardness from 16 GPa to 20 GPa with decreasing bilayer thickness. Friction and wear test revealed that the coating friction coefficient increases from 0.70 to 0.93, then decreases to 0.62 with decreasing bilayer thickness. The layered method can improve mechanical and friction properties, meanwhile reducing surface roughness, which makes it a potentially promising method for fabricating high precision micromachining coating tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adhesive wear is one of the major reasons for short tool life during machining titanium alloys. This study presents a new kind of low adhesive wear TaO functional coating prepared by magnetron sputtering. The composite coating is composed by two layers of a solid solution TiAlTaN in bottom and a TaO (Ta 2 O 5 or TaO x ) on top. Tool life of the TiAlTaN/TaO coatings is increased more than triple the TiAlTaN single coating by titanium cutting experiments. Cutting performance of commercial TiAlN-based coated tool is increased 267% after coating the TaO on the surface. Friction and wear between the coatings and Ti6Al4V counterpart have been conducted. The results show that both the friction coefficient of the coatings (from 1.05 to 0.82) and surface roughness (from 12.2 ± 0.6 to 7.1 ± 0.1 nm) are decreased by increasing TaO thickness from 0 to 150 nm. The adhesive bonds between coating and titanium also reduce with increasing the TaO thickness. This leads to the significantly reduction of the adhesion at the cutting tool tip after coated the TaO coating. This is because that the titanium is not easy to bind with the TaO coating by the calculated positive interaction energy between the Ta 2 O 5 surface and pure Ti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotational speed has an important influence on the performance of coating materials. The a-C:Ta composite coatings were prepared by controlling the substrate rotational speed during deposition process using PVD technique. The results showed that the coating transformed from dense structure to columnar structure. Due to the changes of deposition time and the vapor incident angle of the sputtering ions, the sp2 hybrid structure increased and the C–Ta bonds contents decreased as a function of the rotational speed, which led to the improvement of adhesion force. The average friction coefficient of the composite coatings did not fluctuate significantly for the amorphous carbon matrix and the transfer films formed during friction, while the wear rates were gradually increased. The sample at 0.5 rpm possessed the lowest wear rate, which was mainly associated with the cooperative behavior of the dense structure and the formation of TaC nanoclusters in the composite coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The nanostructure of a-Si:H interlayer can be tailored by bias power. • Nanoporous interlayer transforms into clusters and then network with increasing bias. • The crosslinked network results in the highest adhesion and the lowest stress. • The tiny clusters weaken the lattice mismatch and reduce the Si-Fe bonds. Different nanostructures of the a-Si:H interlayer were designed by tuning the bias power to reveal the impacts on the adhesion of thick DLC coatings prepared by PECVD. Besides the formation of stable Si-Fe bonds, the a-Si:H interlayer transformed from nano-porous structure into tiny clusters and finally into crosslinked network by raising the bias power from 125 to 425 W. The interlayer with crosslinked network promoted the formation of more Fe-Si dangling bonds at the bonding layer as well as better structure matching with top layers, resulting in the highest adhesion strength of 32 N and the lowest internal compressive stress of −1.44 GPa. When amounts of tiny clusters were formed in the interlayer at 275 W, the lowest adhesion strength of 23.5 N was obtained. This was due to the low chemical reactivity of tiny clusters hindered the formation of the Si-Fe bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the adaptability of GLC coatings in aqueous environment, a dense structure for GLC coatings was designed and constructed by nitrogen doping via PVD technique. The nitrogen content was tailored via tuning the nitrogen flow rate to optimize the tribological performances of the N-doped GLC coatings in water as well as to investigate the effects of different nitrogen contents. And the optimal nitrogen flow rate was 5 sccm. The results implied the nitrogen doping favored the increase of adhesion strength. The dense structure built by nitrogen doping entitled the N-GLC coatings to improved wear resistance in water and enhanced aqueous-adaptability, because the corrosion by water can be effectively inhibited compared with the column-structured nitrogen-free GLC coatings via PVD. [Display omitted] • The nitrogen modified GLC coatings with dense structure and better adhesion strength were constructed via PVD technique. • The nitrogen contents in the N-doped GLC coatings can be tailored by tuning the nitrogen flow rate in the PVD process. • The nitrogen-free GLC coating was failed in water environment, while the N-GLC coating with 5 sccm flow rate showed a lowest wear rate of 2.47 × 10-8 mm3/Nm. • The nitrogen doping contributed to the densification of the coatings and thus improved their aqueous-adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe-based amorphous alloys (FAA) have excellent anti-corrosion and anti-abrasive comprehensive performances. However, sprayed thin FAA coatings with high porosity cannot provide efficient protection, or even accelerate the corrosion rate of the substrate due to galvanic corrosion. Laser re-melting densifying is usually used to improve the anti-corrosion performance of sprayed coatings. There are two disadvantages of the common laser re-melting method, including crystallization and residual stress. In the present paper, a low density energy laser re-melting method was used to improve the performance of cold spraying (CS) FeCoCrMoBCY FAA coating on 40Cr substrate. The results show that the CS FAA coatings were crystallized partially during the melting process. The hardness of the coating is improved at the melting zone after laser re-melting, which improves the anti-abrasive performance. Potentiodynamic test results show that laser re-melting can decrease the corrosion rate, but the salt spray test indicates that low energy density re-melting cannot eliminate penetrated diffusion passage. Further optimization should be conducted to improve the anticorrosion performance for this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-entropy carbonitrides exhibit excellent properties in friction and corrosion. Here, the tribo-corrosion response of (CrNbTiAlV)C x N y coating were studied in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution at room temperature. The doping of carbon makes the coating structure dense. When the carbon content of the coating is 40%, the coating exhibits maximum hardness (20.21 GPa). As the carbon content increases, the synergistic effect of tribo-corrosion on the coating gradually weakens, and friction coefficient decreases. The coating with 40% carbon content has the smallest change in static and dynamic current density (0.14 ×10−8 A/cm2), the smallest friction coefficient (0.28), and the smallest wear volume loss. These results show that the coating can effectively protect the substrate in case of tribo-corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(CrNbTiAlVMo) x N 1−x coatings were deposited on 316 L steel by sputtering method. The structure, mechanical and tribo-corrosion performances of the coating were studied. The results show that all coatings exhibit single FCC structure. With the increase of Mo content, the surface particle size increases, and the orientation changes from (111) to (200). The maximum hardness reaches 44.3 GPa and the corresponding elastic modulus is 405 GPa. Tribo-corrosion test show that the coatings exhibit better resistance to tribo-corrosion than 316 L steel. The coating with 8 at% Mo content has the lowest static current density (7.49 ×10−9 A/cm2) and dynamic current density (9.33 ×10−8 A/cm2), while the coating with 32 at% Mo content shows the smallest wear volume. The related synergistic mechanism of tribo-corrosion was discussed. • The (CrNbTiAlVMo)xN1-x coatings with different Mo contents were prepared by magnetron sputtering. • When the Mo content is 8%, the coating exhibits the highest hardness (44.3 GPa) and elastic modulus (405 GPa). • The (CrNbTiAlVMo)xN1-x coatings exhibit better resistance to tribo-corrosion than 316 L steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (CrAlTiNbV)N x coatings are fabricated by controlling the substrate bias via magnetron sputtering method. Under low substrate bias, the coating tends to form a loose columnar crystal structure with (200) preferred orientation. However, when the substrate bias increases, the coating transforms into a dense nanocrystalline structure, and the (111) orientation is enhanced. As the substrate bias increases, the residual stress and hardness of the coating gradually increase, while the adhesion strength decreases slightly. Friction tests show that the coating possesses the lowest average friction coefficient (about 0.06) and wear rate (8.7 × 10-9 mm3/N·m) in 4050# aviation lubricant, which is achieved under the substrate bias of -96 V and -126 V, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The (CrAlTiNbV)N x high-entropy coatings are prepared by magnetron sputtering method. • All coatings exhibit columnar growth morphology and own a single FCC structure. • The S-38 owns a friction coefficient of 0.096 and wear rate of 1.8 × 10−7 mm3/(N·m). • The excellent wear resistance of S-38 is mainly attributed to its dense structure. (CrAlTiNbV)N x high-entropy nitride coatings are deposited via tuning nitrogen flow rates, and evaluating their influence on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings. All deposited coatings exhibit columnar growth morphology and own a single face-center-cubic structure. As the nitrogen flow rate increases, the preferred orientation of the coating gradually transfers from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0) and (2 2 0), and then changes back to (1 1 1) with the nitrogen flow rate continues to increase. The S-38 sample possesses the optimal plastic deformation resistance and adhesion strength. Friction and wear results show that the (CrAlTiNbV)N x coating deposited at nitrogen flow rate of 38 sccm owns the best tribological properties with a friction coefficient of 0.096 and wear rate of 1.8 × 10−7 mm3/(N·m) in 4050# aviation oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-throughput preparation of MoS 2 -(Cr, Nb, Ti, Al, V) composite coatings was achieved by multi-targets co-sputtering method. Based on the obtained friction coefficient of 236 samples as the criterion, four samples with the largest difference in friction coefficient were screened out for further detailed investigations. The results demonstrated that high metal doping amount can dense the coating and reduce the particle size. As the doping content increased, the coating transformed from nanocrystalline to amorphous structure. Consequently, MoS 2 -(Cr, Nb, Ti, Al, V) composite coatings with high doping levels presented higher hardness and better atmospheric tribological properties. Moreover, the Cr and Al dopants can better inhibit the oxidation of MoS 2 than Nb, Ti and V dopants owing to the denser oxide films. • More than two hundreds of doped MoS 2 coatings are prepared by high throughput preparation. • The coatings with high doping contents own higher hardness and better tribological properties. • As the doping content increases, the coating transform from nanocrystalline to amorphous structure. • The Cr and Al dopants can better inhibit the oxidation of MoS 2 than Nb, Ti and V dopants. • The P8 sample owns a friction coefficient of about 0.03 and wear rate of 3.16 × 10−7 mm3/(N.•m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr-doped graphite-like carbon (Cr-GLC) coatings and Cr-doped diamond-like carbon (Cr-DLC) coatings were prepared by PVD and PECVD, respectively. The lubrication behaviour of the solid-liquid composite lubrication systems was investigated using two ionic liquids (ILs) as lubricants. The results show that the friction coefficient was reduced by approximately 40% compared with that under the dry condition, and the composite system exhibited a good synergistic lubrication effect. The Cr-DLC coating showed better tribological behaviour than the Cr-GLC coating, which can be ascribed to a better physicochemical film formation under friction and the compact microstructure of the Cr-DLC coating. The synergistic effect of the composite systems was affected by the viscosity and corrosiveness of the ILs and the microstructure of the coatings. Image 1 • The Cr-GLC and Cr-DLC coatings were prepared by PVD and PECVD method, respectively. • The friction coefficient decreases from 0.11 (dry condition) to 0.045–0.06 (ILs condition). • The lubrication of solid-liquid systems is mainly affected by the wettability of ionic liquids. • The tribological properties of Cr-GLC in ionic liquids are more affected by the corrosion effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]