Effect of Low-Energy Nitrogen Ion Implantation on Friction and Wear Properties of Ion-Plated TiC Coating

Zhongyu Dou,Faguang Zhang,Yinglu Guo,Dianxi Zhang

doi:10.3390/coatings11070775

Zhongyu Dou, Faguang Zhang + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11070775

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Abstract

To further improve the performance of the coated tools, we investigated the effects of low-energy nitrogen ion implantation on surface structure and wear resistance for TiC coatings deposited by ion plating. In this experiment, an implantation energy of 40 keV and a dose of 2 × 1017 to 1 × 1018 (ions/cm2) were used to implant N ions into the TiC coatings. The results indicate that the surface roughness of the coating increases first and then decreases with the increase of ion implantation dose. After ion implantation, the surface of the coating will soften and reduce the hardness, and the production of TiN phase will gradually increase the hardness. Nitrogen ion implantation can reduce the friction coefficient of the TiC coating and improve the friction performance. In terms of wear resistance, the coating with an implant dose of 1×1018 ions/cm2 has the greatest improvement in wear resistance. Tribological analysis shows that the improvement in the performance of TiC coatings implanted with N ions is mainly due to the effect of the lubricating implanted layer. The implanted layer mainly exists in the form of amorphous TiC, TiN phase, and sp2C–C phase.

Highlights

Hard alloy material is widely used in cutting tools, deep processing, and other fields because of its good hardness, strength, and elastic modulus
Sharkeev et al revealed the effect of N saturation and reported that high-dose N ion implantation significantly improved the wear resistance of TiN films deposited by physical vapor deposition [18]
Yang et al reported that the improvement of friction and wear properties of TiN films implanted with N and Ti ions was due to the formation of nano-scale TiN grains in the thick amorphous layer [19]

Summary

Introduction

Hard alloy material is widely used in cutting tools, deep processing, and other fields because of its good hardness, strength, and elastic modulus. Sharkeev et al revealed the effect of N saturation and reported that high-dose N ion implantation significantly improved the wear resistance of TiN films deposited by physical vapor deposition [18].

Results

Conclusion