A study of mechanical and tribological properties of self-lubricating TiAlVN coatings at elevated temperatures

•Successful deposition of a novel quartary TiAlVN wear resistant coating.•Optimization of deposition process parameters.•Approving of self-lubrication effect of TiAlVN coating.•Dependency of deposition rate on heating rate of the chamber.•Dependency of wear resistance/friction coefficient on nitrogen gas flow.

There are several manufacturing processes, in which the employment of solid lubricants is limited. In addition, ecological damage and higher production costs are further consequences of using such solid lubricants. This work aims at using the great potential of thin film technology to deposit adaptive, self-lubricating coatings as an alternative to conventional solid lubricants. Using magnetron sputtering process several titanium aluminum vanadium nitride coatings (TiAlVN) were developed in this study. These quaternary coatings possess the ability of forming lubricious oxides, known as Magnéli phases, at elevated temperatures, which significantly reduces the friction coefficient and surface wear.