Sandblasting pretreatment for deposition of diamond films on WC-Co hard metal substrates

Abstract

Sandblasting combined with acid etching was utilized as pretreatment of Co-cemented tungsten carbide substrates for the deposition of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond films. Diamond films were deposited on the pretreated surface as well as on substrates treated by a two-step alkali-acid pretreatment as a contrast. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Rockwell hardness tester and turning test were respectively conducted to characterize the pretreated substrates and deposited diamond films. Surface roughness of the treated surface was controlled by adjusting sandblasting parameters. An enhancement of surface roughness and removal of the binder phase were detected on the treated surface. The porous Co-depleted carbide layer caused by sandblasting and acid-etching pretreatment was obviously thinner compared to the two-step pretreatment. The nucleation stage of CVD process was investigated and the nucleation density was obviously enhanced by the sandblasting pretreatment. Indentation tests exhibited an improvement of adhesive strength compared to the two-step pretreatment. Moreover, the XRD patterns showed that the residual stress of diamond films was decreased. The turning tests showed that the diamond coated tools with sandblasting-acid pretreatment exhibited less area of flank wear and film shedding.