Morphology and Tribological Properties of TiN/ZrN Multilayer Films on 20CrNiMo Steel Surface Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

TiN/ZrN multilayer films were deposited on the surface of 20CrNiMo steel by the symmetrical bipolar pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering. The morphology of the films at cross section and the surface morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The adhesion between the films and substrate was measured with the scribe testing. Tribological properties of the films was evaluated on a ball-on-disc friction and wear tester. The results show that the TiN/ZrN multilayer films with 2.1 μm thickness could be obtained, which were uniform and compact. The average surface roughness was about 13.63 nm. The films had a good adhesion of critical load 51.0 N with the substrate. It was found that the films had excellent antifriction. The friction coefficient of the 20CrNiMo steel was about 0.33 under dry sliding, while the TiN/ZrN films had lower friction coefficient of 0.16 under the same testing condition.