Optimizing Tribological Performances and Corrosion Resistance of (TiNbCrZrMo)N x High‐Entropy Nitride Coatings via Substrate Bias Modulation

Abstract

To meet the corrosion protection and lubrication requirements of mechanical transmission components in marine environments, this paper is dedicated to designing a (TiNbCrZrMo)N x high‐entropy nitride (HEN) coating by magnetron sputtering deposition and optimizing its tribological performance and corrosion resistance via substrate bias modulation. Substrate bias of various voltages is imposed on the sputtering deposition of the (TiNbCrZrMo)N x coatings to investigate the effects on the microstructure, mechanical, electrochemical, and tribological properties. The results show that all HEN coatings exhibit FCC crystal structures. With the increase of substrate bias, the microstructure of the coatings evolves from columnar to compact, while the hardness of the coating follows a parabola‐like change, reaching a high hardness of 17.81 GPa at the substrate bias of −125 V. The (TiNbCrZrMo)N x coating deposited at −125 V also exhibits the optimized wear resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, with a wear rate of 8.54 × 10 −7 mm 3 ·N −1 ·m −1 , while the best corrosion resistance occurs at the substrate bias of −100 V, approaching a corrosion current density of 1.47 × 10 −7 A/cm 2 and a corrosion voltage of −0.693 V.