Investigation of the Tribological Properties of MoS2/Ni Composite Coatings Produced by Magnetron Sputtering

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Mehdi Akbarzadeh ¹
• Morteza Zandrahimi ¹
• Ehsan Moradpur ²

¹ Department of Metallurgy and Materials science, Faculty of Engineering,

² tehran

10.22067/ma.v31i2.68157

Abstract

In this study Ni-MoS2 composite coatings were deposited onto steel substrates by direct-current magnetron sputtering. The MoS2/Ni ratio in the coatings was controlled by sputtering the composite targets. The coatings were characterized X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and nano-indentation and nano-scratch testes. The tribological behavior of the coatings were investigated using the pin-on-disc test at room temperature. The results showed that the thickness, and the hardness of the coatings were 4-6 µm and 850-1300 HV, respectively. The degree of crystallization of the composite coatings increased with increasing Nickel contents. The incorporation of Nickel to MoS2 coatings resulted in a considerable improvement of coating adhesion and hardness. The optimum doping level for Ni-MoSx coatings to show the best tribological properties,) the lowest friction coefficient and wear rate (was 14 atomic percent. The main wear mechanism of coating were delamination and tribochemical.

Keywords

• Keywords: Molybdenum disulfide
• Solid lubricant
• Physical vapor deposition. Wear behavior
• Friction coefficient

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