Effect of Substrate Bias Voltage and Ti Doping on the Tribological Properties of DC Magnetron Sputtered MoSx Coatings‌

• Main Authors: M. Akbarzadeh, M. Zandrahimi, E. Moradpur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran University of Science & Technology 2019-06-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering
• Subjects: mosx/ti coating; tribological properties; low friction; pvd
• Online Access: http://ijmse.iust.ac.ir/article-1-1221-en.html

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is one of the most widely used solid lubricants. In this work, composite MoSx/Ti coatings were deposited by direct-current magnetron sputter ion plating onto plain carbon steel substrates. The MoSx/Ti ratio in the coatings was controlled by sputtering the composite targets. The composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the coatings were explored using an energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDX), Xray diffraction (XRD), and nano indentation and scratch techniques. The tribological behavior of the coatings was investigated using the pin-on-disc test at room temperature. With the increase of doped titanium content, the crystallization degree of the MoSx/Ti composite coatings decreased. The MoSx/Ti coatings showed a maximum hardness of 13 GPa at a dopant content of 5 at% Ti and the MoSx/Ti composite films outperformed the MoSx films. Moreover, the films exhibited a steady state friction coefficient from 0.13 to 0.19 and the main wear mechanisms of the MoSx/Ti coating in air were abrasive, adhesive, and oxidation wear.