Tribological properties of in-situ PVD TiAlN, TiSiN, and TiAlN/TiSiN coatings under ambient air and vacuum environment

It is known that the interest in manufacturing in a vacuum environment has increased in recent years. Thus, the wear behavior of mechanical tools under vacuum conditions has critical importance. However, adhesion and cold-welding problems between tool and working piece in vacuum conditions lead to poor wear properties and severe coefficient of friction values. Surface treatment methods such as physical vapor deposition coatings can eliminate these undesirable consequences, especially transition metal nitrides. In this study, TiAlN, TiSiN, and TiAlN/TiSiN films were coated on AISI H13 tool steels employing the cathodic arc evaporation technique. Whether the coatings grown to the substrate surface have a positive contribution to the wear performance of the substrate in the ambient air and vacuum environment was answered. Scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffractometer analyses were used to attain structural properties. The hardness was measured using a nano-hardness tester, and the adhesion properties were determined by a scratch test. The wear behavior of the substrate and coating samples are determined under 2 N constant normal load and using WC-6%Co counter bodies under ambient air and vacuum conditions. The hardness of samples improved owing to surface coatings, and the highest nano-hardness value was determined from the TiSiN coatings as 39.42 GPa, which is ∼700% greater than the substrate. It has been observed that coated samples have superior wear performance in both wear conditions. Besides, it is determined that those tested under a vacuum condition showed superior wear resistance than the samples tested under ambient air. While TiSiN film exhibits the highest wear resistance in ambient air, the TiAlN/TiSiN layer is the best in a vacuum environment. Owing to the deposited coatings, the seizure mechanism between the friction surfaces, which is frequently encountered in the vacuum environment, is prevented, and a fascinating improvement in terms of friction coefficient is achieved.