Microstructure and mechanical properties of VAlN/Si3N4 nano-multilayer coatings

VAlN coating is of particular interest for dry cutting applications owing to its low-friction and excellent abrasiveness. Nano-multilayer structure is designed to tailor the properties of VAlN coating. In this work, a series of VAlN/Si 3 N 4 nano-multilayer coatings with varied Si 3 N 4 layer thickn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Central South University 2022-05, Vol.29 (5), p.1403-1411
Main Authors: Tao, Xian-cheng, Lou, Yu-min, Li, Miao-lei, Zhao, Ning-ning, Tang, Xiu-zhi, Hu, Hai-long, Huang, Xiao-zhong, Yue, Jian-ling
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abrasive cutting
Coating effects
Coefficient of friction
Coherence
Crystallization
Engineering
Friction
Hardness
Mechanical properties
Metallic Materials
Microstructure
Monolayers
Multilayers
Rapid prototyping
Silicon nitride
Thickness
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Summary:VAlN coating is of particular interest for dry cutting applications owing to its low-friction and excellent abrasiveness. Nano-multilayer structure is designed to tailor the properties of VAlN coating. In this work, a series of VAlN/Si 3 N 4 nano-multilayer coatings with varied Si 3 N 4 layer thicknesses were prepared by reactive sputtering method. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings were both investigated. It is revealed that Si 3 N 4 with a shallow thickness (∼0.4 nm) was crystallized and grown coherently with VAlN, showing a remarkable increase in hardness compared to VAlN monolayer coating. The hardness of coherently VAlN/Si 3 N 4 nano-multilayer coatings reached to 48.7 GPa. With further increase of Si 3 N 4 layer thickness, the coherent growth of nano-multilayers was terminated, showing amorphous structure formed in nano-multilayers and the hardness was declined. On the other hand, when Si 3 N 4 layer thickness was 0.4 nm, the friction coefficient of VAlN/Si 3 N 4 nano-multilayer coating was almost equal to that of VAlN monolayer coating, which was attributed to the crystallization of Si 3 N 4 and the produced coherent interfaces between VAlN and Si 3 N 4 for the hardening effect of nano-multilayer coatings. Upon further increase of Si 3 N 4 layer thickness, pronounced improvement of friction coefficient in VAlN/Si 3 N 4 nano-multilayer coating was observed.
ISSN:2095-2899
2227-5223
DOI:10.1007/s11771-022-5005-x