Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of ZrN, ZrCN and ZrC Coatings Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

As the demands for wear-resistant coatings in the cutting industry are constantly rising, new materials that have the potential to exhibit enhanced coating properties are continuously explored. Chemical vapor deposited (CVD) Zr(N,C) is a promising alternative to the well-established and thoroughly investigated Ti(C,N) coating system, owing to its advantageous mechanical and thermal properties. Thus, within this work, CVD ZrN, ZrCN and ZrC coatings were deposited at 1000 °C, and subsequently their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated in detail. Scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that all coatings exhibited a columnar structure and a fiber texture, where ZrN and ZrCN displayed a <100> preferred orientation in growth direction and ZrC showed a <110> texture. Tensile residual stresses that arise due to a mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the cemented carbide substrate and the coating material decreased with the addition of C to the coatings. No stress relaxation through thermal crack formation was observed in the coatings. The highest hardness was determined for the ZrC coating with 28.1 ± 1.0 GPa and the lowest for the ZrN coating with 22.1 ± 0.9 GPa. Addition of C to the ZrN coating increased the hardness to 26.1 ± 1.6 GPa, which can be explained by a more covalent bonding character, as well as by solid solution strengthening. The ZrCN coating exhibited the highest Young’s modulus, followed by the ZrC and ZrN coatings, which can be attributed to differences in their electronic band structure.

Deposition, microstructure and nanoindentation of multilayer Zr nitride and carbonitride nanostructured coatings

“…Figure 9 shows the x-ray diffraction spectra obtained from all the multilayer coatings. The spectra match that of an analogous coating described in a recent study 94 , 95 , with obvious (fcc) ZrC, Zr 2 CN and ZrN, peaks that are almost homogeneous. The standard peak positions of (fcc)-ZrC (1CCD: 00-035-0784), (fcc)-Zr 2 CN (ICSD: 01-071-6065) and (fcc)-ZrN (ICCD: 00-035-0753) are plotted as dashed lines.…”

Deposition, Microstructure and Nanoindentation of Multilayer Zr Nitride and Carbonitride Nanostructured Coatings

“…Figure 9 shows the x-ray diffraction spectra obtained from all the multilayer coatings. The spectra match that of an analogous coating described in a recent study [92,93], with obvious (fcc) ZrC, Zr The ZrN/ZrCN coatings had smaller grain size than the Zr/ZrN coatings, this corresponds to the surface morphology of the coatings as observed in the FESEM micrographs (Figure 6). This is because the carbon atoms in coatings limit grain growth, resulting in tiny grain size.…”

Effect of laser remelting power on the microstructure and properties of vanadizing layer on AISI 52100 steel pin shaft

“…Strengthening process is used to improve the surface properties of steel, increase the hardness and wear resistance of steel and prolong its service life, the strengthening methods mainly include laser surface treatment, ion implantation, thermal spraying, vapor deposition, chemical heat treatment, multi-element co-penetration, etc. [ [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] ]. Y Yang et al [ 12 ]prepared the WC/Ni-based coating on AISI H13 steel by laser cladding.…”