Corrosion and tribo-corrosion enhancement of SS301 and Ti-6Al-4V substrates by amorphous hydrogenated SiN/SiC/a-C multilayer coating architecture

► We developed an amorphous hydrogenated SiN/SiC/a-C multilayer coating architecture. ► We investigate corrosion and tribo-corrosion behaviors of such multilayer coatings. ► The superior corrosion resistance is attributed to the inert SiN and SiC layers. ► The a-C top layer contributes to the significantly enhanced tribo-corrosion behavior. ► The SiN/SiC/a-C coating has great potential for different applications as tribo-corrosion protection.