Tribological and Mechanical Behaviour of Molybdenum Thin Film Nanocoatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Coatings and surface engineering are used to protect manufactured components from thermal or corrosive degradation, impart wear resistance and hardness to the surface while retaining the toughness and ductility of the bulk component, also enhance the aesthetic and decorative appeal. In this work Molybdenum based ceramic Nanocomposite (MoSi2-SiC) coating was deposited on the surface of Mild steel substrate by Plasma Vapour deposition (PVD) Method in RF Magnetron Sputtering process. The thickness of the nanocoatings was varied as 50nm, 75 nm and 100 nm. X- ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the microstructures of Mo based ceramic coating. The surface hardness of substrate and coating were determined using a Vickers microhardness tester. Corrosion resistance analysis was also carried out using acidic bath environment by weight loss method. The corrosion resistance of MoSi2-SiC coating was far better than that of substrate.