In this study, we compare the tribological performance of a multilayer TiSiN/Ti(Ag)N coating with a TiSiN/TiN coating with a similar Si content in order to demonstrate the effect of the solid lubricant phase, silver. For Al2O3 balls, the hardness and reduced modulus determine the tribological performance of the coatings for tests conducted at room temperature (RT) against Al2O3 balls. At 550 °C, the TiSiN/TiN coating failed, whereas the Ag-containing coating performed better due to the presence of Ag in the contact, which decreased the shear stress and, consequently, the friction. For tests against TiAl6V4 balls, the Ag-containing coating was always better than the TiSiN/TiN one. At 550 °C, Ag in the wear track prevented the adhesion of the oxidized Ti-alloy wear debris in the contact, favoring the adhesion of wear debris from the coating to both the coating and counterpart surfaces. No wear could be measured for the 700 °C tests for both coatings due to different reasons: (i) the presence of oxidized adhered material from the ball to the reference TiSiN/TiN coating surface protected from wear and (ii) the presence of Ag-agglomerated particles decreased the friction and minimized the adhesion wear of the counterpart for the TiSiN/TiN(Ag) coating.
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