Abstract

The possibility of reducing contamination in trace element analysis by coating processing tools with tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coating has been studied. The 0.5 μm thick ta-C coating was deposited on pressing tool pellets made of Mo, W and WC-Co hard metal using the plasma accelerator method. The method was optimised to get high adhesion and high sp3 fraction (approx. 80%) to ensure minimal wear. The contamination of sugar test samples pressed with uncoated pellets was clearly detected with particle induced X-ray emission method (PIXE) for all the pellet materials used. In the samples pressed with ta-C coated pellets contamination from the pellets was below the detection limit, i.e. < 0.1–1 ppm. Furthermore, ta-C coatings withstood the pressing and normal cleaning procedures without any delamination or other kind of damage. The results obtained should be applicable to other processing tools as well.

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