Optical and tribological properties of decorative titanium carbonitride coatings

Abstract

Stainless steel and chromium-electroplated metal can change their metallic surface aspects into different colours by thin film deposition technologies. In this study, the colour change of titanium carbonitride (TiC x N y ) thin films as a function of N 2 and CH 4 flow rates in the deposition process was investigated. TiC x N y thin films were deposited by cathodic arc in an industrial equipment at low temperature (125°C) for decorative purposes. The samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, glow discharge optical emissions spectroscopy, nanohardness, nanoscratch test and colorimetric analysis. The colour slightly changes from yellow gold to light bronze with carbon addition in the thin film structure. Scratch test determines an increase of the critical load for both plastic deformation and delamination as the carbon content increases. The failure mode shifts from brittle/ductile mode to ductile mode with the increase of the carbon content.

Structural, Mechanical, and Decorative Properties of Sputtered TiN and Ti (N, C) Films for Orthodontic Applications; an In Vitro Study

“…The samples with the lowest value of carbon present the best colorimetric characteristics for blending in with the enamel chromatic levels, exhibiting champagne color with the aesthetic of “white” gold. This behavior was already observed in a different set of samples produced by the authors using other deposition methods such as magnetron sputtering-arc evaporation process or cathodic arc [ 34 , 35 ]. It is reported that only human saliva can be used to test the magnitude exactly or to rank the efficiency in simulating the orthodontic sliding [ 36 ].…”

Evolution of microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of vanadium carbonitride coatings sputtered at different nitrogen partial pressures

“…The SEM images of coatings sputtered at 0.04 and 0.10 Pa show a significant amount of wear debris accumulated on the wear track and the wear rate for both films is 4.20 × 10 −7 mm 3 /Nm. This result indicates that abrasion is due to the low resistance of films to plastic strain, which is expected in ductile films [18,41].…”

Microstructural, mechanical, oxidation resistance and tribological properties of TaMgN films

“…After the wear test, the diffraction peaks, corresponding to TaO Ta 2 O 5 and MgO, are The tribological properties of films are affected by microhardness, composition, phase and anti-plastic deformation ability, etc. [22,23]. The films, which have a higher microhardness, would have a better tribological property.…”