Hard wear-resistant TiAlSiCN/MoSeC coatings with a low friction coefficient at room and elevated temperatures

TiAlSiCN and TiAlSiCN/MoSeC coatings are fabricated by magnetron sputtering of segmented SHS and compacted powder targets. The structure and composition of coatings are investigated by X-ray phase analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The TiAlSiCN coating is based on the fcc phase with crystallite size <15 nm; the crystallite size decreases under sputtering of TiAlSiCN and MoSeC segments in a ratio of 3: 1 and crystallites amorphized at a ratio of 2: 2. The MoSe₂ phase is also found in TiAlSiCN/MoSeC coatings. According to the results of nanoindentation, the hardness of TiAlSiCN coatings is 40 GPa and that of TiAlSiCN/MoSeC coatings is 28 and 12 GPa at ratios of 3: 1 and 2: 2, respectively. The friction coefficient of TiAlSiCN coatings at room temperature is 0.75, it decreases to 0.05 after the introduction of MoSeC, and wear resistance of coatings increases as well. A low friction coefficient (<0.1) under tribological tests of TiAl-SiCN/MoSeC coatings with continuous heating is invariable up to 300°C.