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Molybdenum disulfide is a 2D material with excellent lubricant properties, resulting from weak van der Waals forces between lattice layers and shear-induced crystal orientation. The low forces needed to shear the MoS₂ crystal layers grant the tribological system low coefficients of friction (COF). However, film oxidation harms its efficacy in humid atmospheres, leading to an increased COF and poor surface adhesion, making its use preferable in dry or vacuum conditions. To overcome these challenges, doping MoS₂ with elements such as Nb, Ti, C, and N emerges as a promising solution. Nevertheless, the adhesion of these coatings to a steel substrate presents challenges and strategies involving the reduction in residual stresses and increased chemical affinity to the substrate by using niobium-based materials as interlayers. In this study, Nb-doped MoS₂ films were deposited on H13 steel and silicon wafers using the pulsed direct current balanced magnetron sputtering technique. Different niobium-based interlayers (pure Nb and NbN) were deposited to evaluate the adhesion properties of Nb-doped MoS₂ coatings. Unlubricated scratch tests, conducted at room temperature and relative humidity under a progressive load, were performed to analyze the COF and adhesion of the coating. Instrumented indentation tests were conducted to assess the hardness and elastic modulus of the coatings. The microstructure of the coatings was obtained by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Results indicated that niobium doping on MoS₂ coatings changes the structure from crystalline to amorphous. Additionally, the Nb concentration of the Nb:MoS₂ coating changed the mechanical properties, leading to different cohesive failures by different loads during the scratch tests. Results have also indicated that an NbN interlayer optimally promoted the adhesion of the film. This result is justified by the increase in hardness led by higher Nb concentrations, enhancing the load-bearing capacity of the coating. It is concluded that niobium-based materials can be used to enhance the adhesion properties of Nb-doped MoS₂ films and improve their tribological performance. Full article

Multi-element material coating systems have received much attention for improving the mechanical performance in industry. However, they are still focused on ternary systems and seldom beyond quaternary ones. High entropy alloy (HEA) bulk material and thin films are systems that are each comprised of at least five principal metal elements in equally matched proportions, and some of them are found possessing much higher strength than traditional alloys. In this study, CrVTiNbZr high entropy alloy and nitrogen contained CrVTiNbZr(N) nitride coatings were synthesized using high ionization cathodic-arc deposition. A chromium-vanadium alloy target, a titanium-niobium alloy target and a pure zirconium target were used for the deposition. By controlling the nitrogen content and cathode current, the CrNbTiVZr(N) coating with gradient or multilayered composition control possessed different microstructures and mechanical properties. The effect of the nitrogen content on the chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the CrVTiNbZr(N) coatings was investigated. Compact columnar microstructure was obtained for the synthesized CrVTiNbZr(N) coatings. The CrVTiNbZrN coating (HEAN-N165), which was deposited with nitrogen flow rate of 165 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm), exhibited slightly blurred columnar and multilayered structures containing CrVN, TiNbN and ZrN. The design of multilayered CrVTiNbZrN coatings showed good adhesion strength. Improvement of adhesion strength was obtained with composition-gradient interlayers. The CrVTiNbZrN coating with nitrogen content higher than 50 at.% possessed the highest hardness (25.2 GPa) and the resistance to plastic deformation H³/E*² (0.2 GPa) value, and therefore the lowest wear rate was obtained because of high abrasion wear resistance. Full article