The effects of substitution of Cr for Mo on the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline Mo5Si3 films

A series of nanocrystalline (MoxCr1-x)(5)Si-3 films with an average grain size of 8 nm has been prepared on Ti-6A1-4V alloy substrates by glow discharge. The effect of substitution of Cr for Mo on the hardness, elastic modulus and plastic deformability of the nanocrystalline (MoxCr1-x)(5)Si-3 film was investigated using the nanoindentation method. The results reveal that the hardness of nanocrystalline (MoxCr1-x)(5)Si-3 films slightly decreases with increasing Cr content. In contrast, the plastic deformability significantly increases with increasing Cr content.