EFFECT OF SUBSTRATE TEMPERATURE ON TANTALUM CARBIDES INTERLAYERS SYNTHESIZED ONTO WC-Co SUBSTRATES FOR ADHERENT DIAMOND DEPOSITION

Abstract

Tantalum carbides (TaXC) interlayers have been synthesized by double glow plasma surface alloying (DG-PSA) method at different temperature for subsequent deposition of diamond coatings. The evolution of the microstructures, phase composition and adhesion of the interlayers dependent on substrate temperature has been discussed. The results show that the layers are composed of TaXC (i.e. Ta2C, TaC) with nanocrystalline microstructure and small amounts of CoTa2. The layer produced at 700∘C is formed of specific flower-shaped rings embedded in smooth structures. As the temperature increases to 800∘C, interacted rings are covered the full surface, and the surface roughness is increased. As the temperature increases further, the rings are replaced by irregular-shaped pits, caused a decreasing surface roughness. Besides the special microstructure with interactional rings and relatively high roughness, the layer prepared at 800∘C possesses higher adhesion, better wear performance and higher hardness than those of other layers. The coating obtained on the interlayer pretreated at 800∘C exhibits the best adhesion. Thus, the TaXC interlayers synthesized at 800∘C are demonstrated as a suitable option for adherent diamond coatings deposited onto WC-Co substrates.