Mechanical and tribological properties of V–C–N coatings as a function of applied bias voltage

Abstract

The aim of this work is to determine the mechanical and tribological behavior of V–C–N coatings deposited on industrial steel substrates (AISI 8620) by using carbon–nitride coatings as a protective materials. The coatings were deposited on silicon (100) and steel substrates via magnetron sputtering and by varying the applied bias voltage. The V–C–N coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), exhibiting the crystallography orientations (111) fcc for V–C–N conjugated by VC (111) and VN (111) phases and (200) fcc for VCN conjugated by VC (200) and VN (200) phases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the chemical composition of metallic carbon–nitride materials. Atomic force microcopy (AFM) was used for determination of the change in grain size and roughness with deposition parameters. By using nanoindentation, pin-on-disk, and scratch test curves, it was possible to estimate the hardness, friction and critical load of V–C–N surface material. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to analyze morphological surfaces changes. Mechanical and tribological behavior in VCN/steel_[8620] system, as a function of a bias voltage deposition, showed an increase of 58% in the hardness, and reduction of 39% in the friction coefficient, indicating thus that the V–C–N coatings may be a promising material for industrial applications.