Effects of Si content on Tribo-corrosion behavior of Cr_1-xSi_xN coatings prepared via magnetron sputtering

Tribo-corrosion behavior of the magnetron sputtering Cr_1-xSi_xN coatings with various Si content was investigated under different testing conditions. The tests were performed using a linear reciprocation ball-on-plate tribometer in the atmosphere, with 3.5 wt% NaCl and under cathodic protection condition. Though Cr_0.58Si_0.42N exhibited best wear resistance in tribological test and good corrosion resistance in corrosion test, the tribo-corrosion resistance was not significantly improved. Meanwhile, Cr_0.96Si_0.04N exhibited the lowest wear rate of 1.5 × 10⁻¹⁵ m³/N m during tribo-corrosion test. It has been found that in the process of tribo-corrosion test, in addition to considering both the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of the coating, more attention should be paid to its tribochemical reaction property which caused increased embrittlement under salt water environment.