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On the oxidation resistance of superhard Ti–Si–C–N coatings

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Abstract

The oxidation behavior of three types of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processed Ti–Si–C–N coatings with silicon content ranging from 4.3 to 11.6 at.% has been investigated at high temperatures. Systematic characterization was conducted to study the evolution of composition, phase constituents, hardness, surface morphologies, microstructures, and grain size during oxidation. A two-stage oxidation process was observed between 700 and 1000 °C for all three coatings. Experimental results indicate that a superhardness of 40 GPa can be maintained up to 700, 800, and 850 °C for 4.3, 7.4, and 11.6 at.% Si coatings, respectively; the dual-phased 7.4 and 11.6 at.% Si coatings show a better oxidation resistance than the single-phased 4.3 at.% Si coating. On the basis of the results, a mechanism is proposed to explain the relationship between the nanostructure and oxidation behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (50671079 and 50531060), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2004CB619302), Doctorial Subject Special Foundation of Chinese University (20070698087), and the Doctorate Foundation of Xi’an Jiaotong University (X020-082062).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State-Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Guo, Shengli Ma & Kewei Xu

  2. International Research Center for Surface Engineering of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Tom Bell

  3. Department of Metallurgy and Materials, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom

    Xiaoying Li & Hanshan Dong

Authors
  1. Yan Guo
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  2. Shengli Ma
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  3. Kewei Xu
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  4. Tom Bell
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  5. Xiaoying Li
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  6. Hanshan Dong
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Correspondence to Kewei Xu.

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Guo, Y., Ma, S., Xu, K. et al. On the oxidation resistance of superhard Ti–Si–C–N coatings. Journal of Materials Research 23, 2420–2428 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2008.0293

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2008.0293

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