Structural, mechanical, and anticorrosive properties of (TiZrNbTa)Nx films

Abstract

(TiZrNbTa)Nx films were fabricated at various nitrogen flow ratios (RN2) through reactive direct current magnetron co-sputtering. The structural, mechanical, and anticorrosive properties of the (TiZrNbTa)Nx films were explored. The metallic TiZrNbTa film formed a body-centered cubic phase, and the film (N05) deposited at RN2 = 5% exhibited a nanocrystalline structure consisting of close-packed hexagonal and face-centered cubic (FCC) phases. In contrast, the films prepared at RN2 > 10% demonstrated an FCC phase. The N05 film has hardness and elastic modulus of 23.5 and 220 GPa, respectively, the highest hardness and relatively lower elastic modules among the studied nitride films. Moreover, the N05 film has the highest polarization resistance of 198 kΩ·cm2 measured by the potentiodynamic polarization method. The chemical states of the (TiZrNbTa)Nx films were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Keywords

• Anticorrosive properties
• Co-sputtering
• Mechanical properties
• Medium-entropy alloys
• Transition metal nitride films