Mechanical properties, oxidation resistance and hydrophobicity of Ti3AlN/ZrYN nanomultilayers

Abstract

A series of Ti3AlN/ZrYN nanomultilayer films of different ZrYN nanolayer thickness were fabricated using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique by alternately depositing Ti3AlN and ZrYN nanolayers. The influence of different ZrYN nanolayers thickness on the mechanical properties, oxidation resistance and hydrophobicity of Ti3AlN/ZrYN nanomultilayer films was investigated by XRD, SEM, nanoindentation tester and contact angle measuring instrument. The results show that the highest hardness (H=26.8 GPa) and the excellent fracture toughness (Kf=4.21 MPa∙m1/2) are achieved at the thickness of Ti3AlN and ZrYN nanolayers are 10 nm and 1 nm respectively. The excellent mechanical properties maybe induced by the formation of c-Ti3AlN/c-ZrYN coherent epitaxial structure, which can enhance hardness by preventing dislocation generation and slip. The high density heterogeneous interface can continuously consume crack propagation energy by deflecting the microcracks and extending the crack propagation path to enhance the fracture toughness. Simultaneously, the oxidation resistance test found that the Ti3AlN/ZrYN nanomultilayers with thinner l also prefer to obtain excellent oxidation resistance, in which the Al tended to form a dense Al2O3 protective layer on the surface, preventing oxygen diffusing into the internal. Moreover, the nodular defects formed on the surface of Ti3AlN/ZrYN nanomultilayer increase the surface roughness, enhancing the hydrophobic properties of the films and thereby reducing their susceptibility to rapid corrosion in humid environments.

Keywords

• ti3aln/zryn nanomultilayer
• mechanical property
• oxidation resistance
• hydrophobicity