Structure and tribocorrosion properties of duplex treatment coatings of TiSiCN/nitride on Ti6Al4V alloy

To meet the performance requirements in harsh marine service environment, developing coatings with excellent trbibocorrosion performance is necessary. Herein, TiSiCN/nitride duplex treatment coatings are prepared by gas nitriding and multi-arc ion plating in turn in this work. The hardness and density are enhanced by nitriding treatment. Duplex treatment coatings exhibit more excellent mechanical properties possessing the maximum hardness values (33 GPa) and exceptional load bearing capacity (88 N) compared to TiSiCN coating. Meanwhile, the effect of wear on corrosion is significant and the action of corrosion determines the total degree of synergy in tribocorrosion system. Furthermore, the friction coefficient is greatly reduced through duplex treatment coatings during tribocorrosion test due to the good resistance to the seawater and the graphitization effect produced by TiSiCN layer.