Issue 53, 2016, Issue in Progress

Influence of CrB2 target current on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Cr–B–C–N coatings in water

Abstract

Cr–B–C–N coatings with different boron contents (24.6–27.2 at%) were deposited on Si(100) wafers and 316L stainless steels by using closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering via adjusting the CrB2 target current. The microstructures, mechanical and tribological properties of Cr–B–C–N coatings in water were characterized by using XRD, XPS, SEM, nano-indentation and ball-on-disk tribometers. The results showed that the soft amorphous BN phases were formed when boron elements were introduced into CrCN coatings. With an increase in the CrB2 target current, the B content increased from 24.9 to 27.2 at%, which caused the a-BN content in CrBCN coatings to increase gradually, and then the hardness of CrBCN coatings decreased from 18.6 ± 0.86 GPa to 16.3 ± 0.28 GPa. Due to the formation of H3BO3, the friction coefficient and wear rates of CrBCN/SiC tribopairs were lower than those of CrCN/SiC tribopairs. When the CrBCN coatings (25.1 at% B) were deposited at the CrB2 target current of 3 A, the lowest values of friction coefficient (0.16) and wear rate (2.1 × 10−7 mm3 N−1 m−1) were obtained simultaneously.

Graphical abstract: Influence of CrB2 target current on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Cr–B–C–N coatings in water

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Apr 2016
Accepted
08 May 2016
First published
09 May 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 47698-47711

Author version available

Influence of CrB2 target current on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Cr–B–C–N coatings in water

Q. Ma, F. Zhou, Q. Wang, Z. Wu, K. Chen, Z. Zhou and L. Kwok-Yan Li, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 47698 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA09264K

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