Tribological and electrochemical performances of Cr/CrN and Cr/CrN/CrAlN multilayer coatings deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

CrN/CrAIN and Cr/CrN/CrAIN multilayers were grown with dual RF magnetron sputtering. The application of these multilayers will be wood machining of green wood. That is why ball-on-disc and electrochemical tests in NaCI aqueous solution were realized to elucidate the tribological and corrosion behavior of these coatings as they will be exposed to wear and corrosion during wood machining process. The samples/alumina and samples/WC coupling showed different wear mechanisms. The 300 nm thick Cr/CrN/CrAlN multilayer demonstrated the best tribological behavior and corrosion resistance. The influence of growth defects on corrosion resistance has been shown. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.