Deposition of magnetron sputtered TiN + MoSx coating with Ti–TiN graded interlayer

In order to provide optimum wear protection for sliding surfaces, it is desirable to use a solid lubricant coating with low friction combined with improved wear characteristics and adhesion, which limit the final tribological properties of coating. In this paper, the preparation of TiN + MoSx coating with graded interlayer of Ti–TiN by close field unbalanced magnetron sputtering (CFUBMS) method is reported. EDX, microhardness tester, Rockwell C indenter and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to evaluate coating composition and graded profile, microhardness, adhesion strength and structural properties, respectively. These properties were correlated with the tribological properties evaluated by pin on disk test. It was found that TiN + MoSx coating with graded interlayer exhibited overall enhanced wear properties.