Comparative Performance Evaluation of Magnetron Sputtered TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN Coatings

Authors

  • Baitsi Paula Montwedi Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3240-0247
  • Samson Olaitan JEJE Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6549-4326
  • Mxolisi Brendon Shongwe Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5115-5833

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54327/set2024/v4.i1.138

Keywords:

Magnetron Sputtering, TiAlCrN, Thin film deposition, Nanoindentation, Hardness

Abstract

This study presents a comparative performance evaluation of magnetron-sputtered TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN coatings on tool steel substrates. Coatings play a pivotal role in enhancing the durability of engineering components exposed to harsh conditions. TiN is known for outstanding hardness and durability, AlCrN for superior wear resistance, and TiAlCrN for exceptional thermal stability and oxidation resistance. The substrate (EN 1.2363) underwent PVD coating using a closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating (CFUBMSIP) process in a water-cooled stainless-steel vacuum chamber with four magnetron ports, operating for 3 hours per batch followed by 12 hours of natural convection cooling, utilizing TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN films deposited for 180 minutes in an Ar and nitrogen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed distinctive crystal structures, with all coatings exhibiting a common preferred orientation of the (111) plane and TiAlCrN showing a ternary nitride phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images displayed the compact nature of TiAlCrN with finer grains, while TiN exhibited a densely compacted with no evidence of delamination and AlCrN showed denseness with smaller grains. Nano-indentation test was conducted to assess the coatings' hardness and elastic modulus. TiAlCrN exhibited the highest hardness (3091±243 HV), highest elastic modulus (369.86±54.19 GPa), and the best wear rate (0.1887 x 10-4 mm3/Nm-1) suggesting potential suitability for applications demanding superior rigidity and wear resistance. The study provides valuable insights for materials scientists and engineers in optimizing coating selection for specific applications.

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Author Biography

  • Samson Olaitan JEJE, Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

    Research Fellow,

    Department of Chem, Met and Mat Engineering,

    Tshwane University of Technology,

    Pretoria,

    South Africa.

     

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Published

30.04.2024

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Research Article

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Baitsi Paula Montwedi, Samson Olaitan JEJE, Mxolisi Brendon Shongwe

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website, social networking sites, etc).

How to Cite

[1]
B. Montwedi, S. Jeje, and M. Shongwe, “Comparative Performance Evaluation of Magnetron Sputtered TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN Coatings”, Sci. Eng. Technol., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 45–55, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.54327/set2024/v4.i1.138.