Structural, mechanical, and tribological properties of GLC film on a nitrided layer prepared in a glow-discharge plasma nitriding system

Catalytic Growth of High-Performance Graphite-like Carbon Films on a Nitrided Substrate: Experimental Study and First-Principles Calculations

“…The wear track on the 5201:3 sample is covered by substantial debris, and residual patches of GLC films are observed in a few areas. The presence of high amounts of oxygen and very small amounts of aluminum (site A, Table ) in the debris indicates that the wear mechanism is a combination of oxidative and adhesive wear. , Large amounts of carbon, trace amounts of oxygen, and no aluminum detected in the C and D sites on the 5203:1 sample indicate some oxidative and adhesive wear, showing that this dual layer exhibits excellent tribological properties.…”

“…Plasma nitriding and GLC film deposition were performed in a pulsed glow discharging plasma system, and the details of the process can be found in our previous studies. , After the pressure within the glow discharge plasma chamber decreased to 50 Pa, a pulsed DC voltage of 780 V was applied, and hydrogen (H 2 ) was introduced at a mass flow rate of 600 sccm. During the heating process, hydrogen ions (H + ) were bombarded onto the sample surface to remove contaminants and activate it.…”

“…Therefore, the properties of the dual layer fabricated via a one-step process are unsatisfactory. In our previous study, 26 a dual coating (nitrided layer + GLC film) was successfully fabricated via plasma technology through several steps (nitriding + polishing + film deposition). However, because of the intermediate polishing process, the adhesion and properties of dual coatings fabricated via this inconsecutive-step method were not very satisfactory.…”

“…The elemental doping of carbon films, ,− use of interlayers, , optimization of coating parameters, , and pretreatment of substrates − are some of the techniques used to enhance the adhesion strength of single GLC films. Many studies have reported that dual treatment (nitriding + GLC film deposition) can create a layer with a gradient hardness distribution to support GLC films, which can increase film–substrate bonding, stabilize the low COF of GLC films, improve their wear performance, and enhance the load-bearing capacity and fatigue performance of the workpiece. ,, However, because traditional dual surface treatments need to be performed in multiple steps and facilities, ,, it is difficult to ensure the reproducibility and control the quality of dual coatings. At the same time, the low preparation efficiency and high production costs of dual coatings limit their large-scale production.…”

Improved Wear Resistance of Nitro-Chromized Carbon Steel Using an Additional Carburizing

“…Because the carburizing can be directly operated after nitriding without changing the heat treatment equipment, additional carburizing is a convenient solution to optimize the nitro-chromizing process. The additional carbon atoms are often reported to optimize the microstructure and properties of the nitriding layer [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Then the additional carburizing can induce the additional carbon atoms and change the nitriding structure in the following three possible ways.…”