Microstructural and tribological behavior of TiAlN/MoS2-Ti coatings

A TiAlN/MoS 2 -Ti coating was developed to improve the tribological characteristics of a single TiAlN coating. The MoS 2 -Ti layer was deposited by a DC magnetron sputtering system on the hard TiAlN coated SKD-II steel substrate. The titanium content in the MoS 2 -Ti layer was 11.3 at.% determined by EPMA. The surface morphology was observed by FE-SEM. The TiAlN layer exhibited excellent adhesion and hardness. However, the deposition of an MoS 2 -Ti layer on the TiAlN led to a significant improvement in tribological properties without affecting the adhesion to the substrate. The MoS 2 -Ti layer significantly decreased the friction coefficient of the TiAlN coating, and the drop was 48% after MoS 2 -Ti deposition. Also, the MoS 2 -Ti layer remarkably decreased the wear rate of the TiAlN coating.