Tribocorrosion behaviors of TiSiCN nanocomposite coatings deposited by high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Abstract

High-performance coatings originated in ingenious coating designs and advanced preparation techniques are expected to fulfill imperious demands in propulsion, bearings and mechanical seals, etc in marine systems for seawater lubrication. In this work, TiSiCN nanocomposite coatings were deposited by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at a power of 4–8 kW. As power is increased, TiSiCN coatings possess nanocrystalline (TiN, TiC, TiCN)/amorphous (Si3N4, SiC, sp2-C) nanocomposite structure without distinctly preferred orientation. The highest hardness (H) of 43 GPa and effective Young’s modulus (E*) of 360 GPa were achieved at 8 kW, while the highest H/E* of 0.123 and H3/E*2 of 0.61 appear at 7 kW due to refined nano-grains, uniform distribution, high surface/interface integrity and fully dense microstructure. Rockwell C adhesion level increased from HF2 at 4 kW to HF1 at 8 kW. TiSiCN coatings with high H, H/E*, H3/E*2 and adhesion exhibit high open circuit potential of −0.07 V, low friction coefficient of 0.25 and specific wear rate of 4.78 × 10−5 mm3 N−1 m−1, resulting from mild abrasive wear without the occurrence of pitting corrosion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution. Moreover, cycling tribocorrosion tests revealed that passive films possess strong abilities of regeneration and self-repairation on sliding contact surface.

Synthesis of Nanocomposite TiSiCN Coatings by Titanium Evaporation and Organosilicon Compound Activation in Hollow Cathode Arc Discharge

“…Usually, H/E values for TiSiCN-coatings are 0.06–0.12 [ 33 ]. An increase in H/E values in the produced coatings as the discharge current grows can be possibly related to the increased concentration of the amorphous component of coatings as the precursor decomposition extent increases.…”

Enhanced Tribocorrosion Resistance of Superhard Ti-C-N Ceramics Coatings

“…Surface modi cation and advanced coatings are expected to improve seawater lubrication and durability of components to ultimately obtain high working performance and long service lifetime [4,5]. One of achievable strategies for the enhancement of tribocorrosion performance is nanostructured coatings deposited on surface components for combined improvements of seawater lubrication and anti-corrosion [6][7][8][9][10][11]. In addition, what but is not allow to neglect, synergistic effects of hardness and toughness of surface coatings on crack initiation and propagation would make a positive contribution for the enhancement of seawater lubrication and corrosion resistance [12][13][14].…”

“…Hence, the re nement or elimination of columnar structure are expected to enhance corrosion and tribocorrosion resistance by the formation of nanocomposite or multilayer structure [10,11]. A lot of work has been done for the re ned CrSiN [21] or TiSiN [9,22] based nanocomposite and multilayer structure (CrN/TiN [23], CrN/NbN [24], etc.) by the addition of Si and the formation of coherent interfaces.…”

“…Another strategy for the enhanced tribocorrosion and seawater lubrication is the addition of C into cubic transition-metal nitride coatings, in which self-lubricating phases and superhard yet tough properties are strongly expected [8][9][10]. The challenge is how to balance phase control and surface/interface structure with high performance, and then one or two phases containing C coatings are preferred.…”

“…Hence, superhard yet tough coatings with C content are expected to reduce the concern of cracking through thickness for ion diffusion channels of solute. Moreover, high surface integrity and dense interface structure free of voids, pores and micro-cracks, etc., are highly bene cial for tribocorrosion resistance and seawater lubrication [4,9,13]. In addition, surface wettability of the coatings has a close correlation with the formation of passive lms and tribolayer.…”