Microstructure, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Advanced Layered WN/MeN (Me = Zr, Cr, Mo, Nb) Nanocomposite Coatings

Smyrnova K. Sahul M. Haršáni M. Pogrebnjak A. Ivashchenko V. Beresnev V. Stolbovoy V. Čaplovič L. Čaplovičová M. Vančo L. Kusý M. Kassymbaev A. Satrapinskyy L. Flock D.
February-1 2022 MDPI

Nanomaterials
2022 #12 Issue 3

Due to the increased demands for drilling and cutting tools working at extreme machining conditions, protective coatings are extensively utilized to prolong the tool life and eliminate the need for lubricants. The present work reports on the effect of a second MeN (Me = Zr, Cr, Mo, Nb) layer in WN-based nanocomposite multilayers on microstructure, phase composition, and mechanical and tribological properties. The WN/MoN multilayers have not been studied yet, and cathodic-arc physical vapor deposition (CA-PVD) has been used to fabricate studied coating systems for the first time. Moreover, first-principles calculations were performed to gain more insight into the properties of deposited multilayers. Two types of coating microstructure with different kinds of lattices were observed: (i) face-centered cubic (fcc) on fcc-W₂ N (WN/CrN and WN/ZrN) and (ii) a combination of hexagonal and fcc on fcc-W₂ N (WN/MoN and WN/NbN). Among the four studied systems, the WN/NbN had superior properties: the lowest specific wear rate (1.7 × 10⁻⁶ mm³ /Nm) and high hardness (36 GPa) and plasticity index H/E (0.93). Low surface roughness, high elastic strain to failure, Nb₂ O₅ and WO₃ tribofilms forming during sliding, ductile behavior of NbN, and nanocomposite structure contributed to high tribological performance. The results indicated the suitability of WN/NbN as a protective coating operating in challenging conditions.

CA-PVD , Coating , Mechanical properties , Microstructure , Wear

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Department of Nanoelectronics and Surface Modification, Sumy State University, Rymskogo-Korsakova 2, Sumy, 40007, Ukraine
Institute of Materials Science, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Jána Bottu 25, Trnava, 917 24, Slovakia
Research and Development Department, Staton, s.r.o., Sadová 1148, Turany, 038 53, Slovakia
Department of Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Center of Advanced Development “VERITAS”, D. Serikbayev East, Kazakhstan State Technical University, Protozanova 69, Ust-Kamenogorsk, 070004, Kazakhstan
Institute for Problems of Material Science, NAS of Ukraine, Krzhizhanovsky 3, Kyiv, 03142, Ukraine
Department of Materials for Reactor Building and Physical Technologies, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Svobody Sq. 4, Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine
Laboratory of Development and Research of Intensive Ion-Plasma Technologies, National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, Akademichna 1, Kharkiv, 61108, Ukraine
Centre for Nanodiagnostics of Materials, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Vazovova 5, Bratislava, 812 43, Slovakia
Department of Experimental Physics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina F2, Bratislava, 842 48, Slovakia
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ilmenau University of Technology, Gustav-Kirchhoff Str. 1, Ilmenau, 98693, Germany

Department of Nanoelectronics and Surface Modification
Institute of Materials Science
Research and Development Department
Department of Biotechnology
Center of Advanced Development “VERITAS”
Institute for Problems of Material Science
Department of Materials for Reactor Building and Physical Technologies
Laboratory of Development and Research of Intensive Ion-Plasma Technologies
Centre for Nanodiagnostics of Materials
Department of Experimental Physics
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering

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