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Analysis of the wear behavior of multilayer coatings of TaZrN/TaZr produced by magnetron sputtering on AISI-316L stainless steel

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Abstract

The AISI 316L stainless steel (316L SS) is commonly used in the orthopedic prosthesis field due to its mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. However, due to its high density and low wear resistance during sliding-contact operations, it may cause an allergic reaction due to the release of toxic ions and wear particles liberated during the sliding-contact operations. The modification of this class of metallic implants’ surface characteristics represents the most common solution to change the surface’s properties of the metal substrate, especially to improve the surface’s mechanical and tribological behavior. DC magnetron sputtering (DCMS) is a suitable technique to deposit a layer with special characteristics due to its high control of deposition parameters, improving the film quality control. On the other hand, the binary (MN) and ternary (MXN) transition nitride coatings have shown promising results, especially the titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), and zirconium (Zr) nitride films, showing a high wear and corrosion resistance in mono- and multilayer arrangement. This technique can control the deposition time and temperature, working pressure, substrate rotation, the flux of gases, and the distance between the substrate and targets that modify the coating characteristics. This work presents the tribological analysis of the tantalum-zirconium-nitride/tantalum-zirconium (TaZrN/TaZr) multilayer coatings sliding-contact operations. Films with 7 and 11 layers were produced using DCMS, controlling the number and thickness of the layers’ coating (LC) with the nitrogen injection to the work chamber. The films presented similar structures and chemical compositions. Similarly, the elastic modulus of both films was similar, but the 7LC coating exhibited a high harness (20 ± 0.6) than the 11LC film (17.2 ± 0.4). The variation of mechanical properties was reflected in the plastic deformation resistance (H3/E*2) and the elastic strain to the failure (H/E) ratios. Reciprocating sliding-contact tests carried out the tribological tests at applied loads of 0.5, 1, and 2N at dry conditions, employing an alumina (Al2O3) ball as a counter-body. The 7LC coating presented a higher coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate than 11LC film at 0.5N and 1N, but at 2N, the 11CL film was detached from the surface, increasing the wear rate value. On both films, the wear tracks presented a high material transference that produces a protected layer of tantalum oxide (Ta2O5), as was observed in the Raman spectra.

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Acknowledgements

C Hernández-Navarro wants to thank the University of Guadalajara for the research stay at the University Center for Exact Sciences and Engineering (CUCEI). E García wants to thank the Cátedras-CONACyT program, México. The authors thank Eng. Sergio Oliva for his help with the SEM images. Martín Flores-Martinez thanks to CONACyT Frontier Science Project 1103.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad Querétaro, Libramiento Norponiente #2000, Fracc. Real de Juriquilla, C.P, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    Carolina Hernández Navarro

  2. Maestría en Innovación Aplicada, Tecnológico Nacional de México en Celaya, Av. Tecnológico y García Cubas, Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico

    Carolina Hernández Navarro

  3. Universidad de Guadalajara, CUCEI, Blvd. Marcelino García Barragán 1421, Ciudad Universitaria, 44430, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

    Martín Flores Martínez & Laura Patricia Rivera Reséndiz

  4. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Carretera México Toluca-La Marquesa s/n, Edo. México, Mexico

    Edgar Enrique Camps Carvajal

  5. Cátedras-CONACYT, Universidad de Guadalajara, CUCEI, Blvd. Marcelino García Barragán 1421, Ciudad Universitaria, 44430, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

    Ernesto David García Bustos

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  1. Carolina Hernández Navarro
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  2. Martín Flores Martínez
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  4. Laura Patricia Rivera Reséndiz
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Contributions

C Hernández-Navarro: Investigation, formal analysis, writing—original draft and editing. M Flores-Martínez: Resources. E Camps: Resources. L. Rivera: Writing—review and editing. E García: Conceptualization, formal analysis, writing—original draft and editing.

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Correspondence to Ernesto David García Bustos.

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Navarro, C.H., Martínez, M.F., Carvajal, E.E.C. et al. Analysis of the wear behavior of multilayer coatings of TaZrN/TaZr produced by magnetron sputtering on AISI-316L stainless steel. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 117, 1565–1573 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-07655-6

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