Effect of a Titanium Nitride Interlayer on the Endurance and Composition of a Molybdenum Disulfide Coating Prepared by Ion-Beam-Assisted Deposition

• Published in: Surface & coatings technology 1991-07, Vol.51 (1-3), p.232-236
• Main Authors: Seitzman, L E, Singer, I L, Bolster, R N, Gossett, C R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0257-8972

MoS sub 2 coatings, produced by ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD), with and without a titanium nitride interlayer, were deposited onto bearing steel substrates for endurance testing. Endurance tests were performed, before and after vacuum annealing at 573K, in dry air using a pin-on-disk tribometer. Titanium nitride made little difference to the endurance and the chemical behavior of the unannealed coatings, but prevented a drastic reduction in endurance after annealing. IBAD MoS sub 2 coatings, with and without a titanium nitride interlayer, were also deposited onto Fe and 304 stainless steel substrates for chemical analysis using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Titanium nitride prevented diffusion of substrate species into the coating during annealing at 573k. Iron diffused into the annealed coating without a titanium nitride interlayer, and sulfidation of the Fe at the surface of the coating occurred. Iron diffusion, Fe sulfidation, and the role of the titanium nitride as a diffusion barrier are explained using a thermochemical approach.