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Comparison of microstructures and properties of VN and VN/Ag nanocomposite films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition

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Abstract

In present work, the microstructures, mechanical and tribological properties of VN and VN/Ag nanocomposite films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique were investigated and compared. The results indicate that both types of films display homogeneous and compact microstructures, and constitute stoichiometric polycrystals. Owing to the incorporation of Ag, the VN/Ag nanocomposite film exhibits a stronger texture along the [200] direction and a larger grain size of 16.5 nm as compared to that of the VN film (9.7 nm). Both types of films presented the same trend of decreasing friction coefficients with increasing temperature in wear tests. The oxidation of VN at elevated temperatures resulted in the formation of a series of vanadium oxides, such as V2O5, V3O7, V6O11, and V6O13, which significantly improved the tribological properties of the film. The VN/Ag nanocomposite films showed superior lubrication properties as compared to the VN films over the ertire range of the investigated temperatures. The metallic Ag provided lubrication to reduce friction at low temperatures. The lubricant vanadium oxides and silver vanadates (such as Ag3VO4, AgVO3) with a layered structure formed at higher temperatures were beneficial for enhancing the lubrication effect. The lowest friction coefficient of 0.08 at 900 °C is realized for VN/Ag nanocomposite films. The decrease in the friction coefficient with increasing temperature for VN films can be attributed to the formation of vanadium oxides on the worn surfaces at elevated temperatures. In case of VN/Ag nanocomposite films, apart from the vanadium oxides, silver vanadates with a layered structure played a critical role in improving the lubrication properties at higher temperatures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51665026), the Young Science and Technology Foundation of Gansu Province (Grant no. 1506RJYA058), and the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Gansu Province (Grant no. 2014A-119) in China for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Hongjian Guo, Zhenyu Zhang & Bunv Liang

  2. Lanzhou Institute of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, China

    Hongjian Guo, Zhenyu Zhang & Bunv Liang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Hongjian Guo, Cheng Lu & Junhong Jia

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  1. Hongjian Guo
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Correspondence to Hongjian Guo.

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Guo, H., Lu, C., Zhang, Z. et al. Comparison of microstructures and properties of VN and VN/Ag nanocomposite films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. Appl. Phys. A 124, 694 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-2055-x

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