Structure and Properties of Protective Coatings Deposited by Pulsed Cathodic Arc Evaporation in Ar, N2, and C2H4 Environments using the TiC–NiCr–Eu2O3 Cathode

Abstract

Coatings were deposited by pulsed cathodic arc evaporation (PCAE) of a TiC–NiCr–Eu2O3 cathode fabricated by the powder metallurgy method. The deposition was carried out in different gas media, including Ar, N2, and C2H4. The structure, elemental, and phase compositions of coatings were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). Coatings were tested in terms of their hardness, elastic modulus, elastic recovery, friction coefficient, and wear and corrosion resistance. The obtained results demonstrated that the coatings deposited in Ar possessed higher hardness up to 20 GPa and an elastic recovery of 92%. Coatings produced using С2H4 showed the minimum friction coefficient (0.35 ± 0.01). The use of nitrogen as a gas medium led to the formation of coatings with the best corrosion resistance in sulfuric acid. Coatings formed in N2 had a free corrosion potential of +0.28 V and a corrosion current density of 0.012 µA/cm2.