Effect of carbon content on the tribological behavior of TiCxN1?x films prepared by arc-vapor deposition

摘要

The effects of carbon content on the tribological behavior of titanium carbonitride(TiC _x N_{1? x} ) films have been studied herein. A set of titanium carbonitride(TiC _x N_{1? x} ) films was prepared by arc ion plating with a pure Ti target and a gas mixture of C₂H₂/N₂ on a steel substrate. High-definition field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to investigate the microstructure of the films. The chemical composition of the films was analyzed using both electron dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The surface roughness and microhardness of the films were measured using α-step profilometer and nanoindenter respectively. The tribology of titanium carbonitride(TiC _x N_{1? x} ) films was investigated using a ball-on-disc testing method and the wear tracks were observed by low-magnification SEM. The tribological behavior of the films was significantly changed with variation of the C₂H₂/N₂ gas ratio. A very low friction coefficient (0.07) of titanium carbonitride(TiC _x N_{1? x} ) film was observed when the C₂H₂:N₂ gas ratio was about 3:2.