High temperature oxidation behavior and wear resistance of Ti0.53Al0.47N coating by cathodic arc evaporation

In this study, oxidation and tribology behavior of Ti0.53Al0.47N coating deposited by cathodic arc evaporation were investigated. The effects of varying temperature from RT to 850 °C on microstructure, phase composition, oxidation behavior, and wear resistance of the coating were evaluated. The phase structure of the Ti0.53Al0.47N coating changes slightly with the elevated temperature, whereas the oxidation behavior of the coating reveals a remarkable variation due to the formation of different type oxide scales. The final oxide scale consists of an outer Al2O3 dominated layer and an inner TiO2 dominated layer, exhibiting a bilayer structure. A serious wear of the Ti0.53Al0.47N coating occurs during the room temperature test. With increasing the test temperature up to 700 °C, the coating show promoted wear resistance owing to the Al2O3 oxide scale provides an excellent protection against the wear. However, further increasing the temperature up to 850 °C produces a fast growth of the TiO2. This deteriorates the protection of the Al2O3 scale, resulting in an accelerated oxidation of the coating. Consequently, the Ti0.53Al0.47N coating illustrates a degraded wear resistance at 850 °C.