Mechanical properties of Mo(C)N coatings deposited using cathodic arc evaporation

The highest carbon concentration in the coatings has been about 19 at.%. The coatings have shown very good adhesion to steel substrates, to 60 N. The hardness of the coatings has reached about 44 GPa for carbon free MoN with evident minimum, about 34 GPa for coating with about 14 at.% of carbon. The wear rate of coatings tested in ball-on-disc system (macro-scale) has been very low, even to (4.7 ± 1.6) × 10− 17 m3/Nm for Mo0.64C0.07N0.29 coating and about two orders of magnitude lower than in AFM test (micro-scale) - 9.6 × 10− 14 m3/Nm. Coefficient of friction in macro-scale has been about one level higher than in micro-scale, for Mo0.64C0.07N0.29 coating it has been 0.42 and 0.041 respectively.