Microstructure and wear behavior of (ZrTaNb)C/N quaternary ceramic coatings prepared by double-cathode glow plasma surface alloying on titanium alloy

Multi-principal component coating is a new type of surface protection material developed in recent years. To improve the surface hardness and wear resistance of aviation titanium alloy, (ZrTaNb)C, (ZrTaNb)N and ZrTaNb coatings were prepared by double cathode glow plasma surface alloying. The microstructure, mechanical properties and high temperature tribological behavior of quaternary ceramic coatings were studied. The results show that the quaternary ceramic coating has an FCC cubic structure, which is different from the BCC structure of the ZrTaNb coating. Meanwhile, the solid-soluble C and N elements improve the surface hardness and toughness of the multi-principal component coating, resulting in a significant reduction in wear rate, which is only 1/10 and 1/5 of that of the substrate and pure metal coating (25 °C). When the temperature increases to 500 °C, the compliant islets of oxidized and compacted debris are gradually activated as a wear-resistant oxidation glaze layer. The gradient structure of amorphous-nanocrystalline composite is formed in the subsurface layer, which can effectively improve the surface strength and wear resistance. This study provides an effective strategy for improving the wear resistance of titanium alloy surface in a wide temperature range.