Understanding the corrosion and tribological behaviors of CrSiN coatings with various Si contents in HCl solution

CrSiN coatings with various Si contents were prepared on 304L substrate through medium frequency magnetron sputtering. Toughness, corrosion resistance and tribology property of as-prepared coatings in 0.1 M HCl solution were studied. The result showed that the toughness of CrN coating was effectively enhanced by the incorporation of proper silicon. Compared with other coatings, the CrSiN coating with high silicon proportion presented lower icorr and higher |Z|0.01 Hz. When the silicon proportion exceeded 16.0 at.%, the inhibition efficiency was up to 99.10%. During tribology test, the COF and wear rate descended at the early stage and then ascended as the silicon proportion increased as a whole, which was ascribed to the combined action between toughness, anti-corrosion and lubrication behaviors.