Characteristics of the Structure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of a Mo-Mo(2)N Nanocomposite Coating Deposited on the Ti6Al4V Alloy by Magnetron Sputtering

Mo-Mo(2)N nanocomposite coating was produced by reactive magnetron sputtering of a molybdenum target, in the atmosphere, of Ar and N(2) gases. Coating was deposited on Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. Presented are the results of analysis of the XRD crystal structure, microscopic SEM, TEM and AFM analysis, measurements of hardness, Young’s modulus, and adhesion. Coating consisted of α-Mo phase, constituting the matrix, and γ-Mo(2)N reinforcing phase, which had columnar structure. The size of crystallite phases averaged 20.4 nm for the Mo phase and 14.1 nm for the Mo(2)N phase. Increasing nitrogen flow rate leads to the fragmentation of the columnar grains and increased hardness from 22.3 GPa to 27.5 GPa. The resulting coating has a low Young’s modulus of 230 GPa to 240 GPa. Measurements of hardness and Young’s modulus were carried out using the nanoindentation method. Friction coefficient and tribological wear of the coatings were determined with a tribometer, using the multi-cycle oscillation method. Among tested coatings, the lowest friction coefficient was 0.3 and wear coefficient was 10 × 10(−16) m(3)/N∙m. In addition, this coating has an average surface roughness of RMS < 2.4 nm, determined using AFM tests, as well as a good adhesion to the substrate. The dominant wear mechanism of the Mo-Mo(2)N coatings was abrasive wear and wear by oxidation. The Mo-Mo(2)N coating produced in this work is a prospective material for the elements of machines and devices operating in dry friction conditions.