Effects of ion implantation and plasma treatment on tribological properties of aluminium and Al-Mg alloy

Abstract

Nitrogen ion implantation and plasma treatment, such as ion nitriding and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma nitriding, were carried out on pure aluminium and Al-Mg alloys and the tribological properties of the resulting samples were studied. Combined surface treatments, ion nitriding or ECR plasma nitriding, were also conducted after ion implantation. It was found that the Vickers hardness of treated samples increased for both pure aluminium and Al-Mg alloy. The friction coefficient decreased after each treatment in the case of pure aluminium. It was found that nitrogen implantation was effective. The wear volume was also decreased, and the combined treatment of ion implantation and ion nitriding was found to be most effective in decreasing the wear volume of pure aluminium. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies of ion nitrided aluminium, treated after implanting, revealed a surface consisting of AlON and AlN+Al layers. For the Al-Mg alloy, ECR plasma nitriding was found to be effective in decreasing the friction coefficient and the wear volume.