Tribological properties of Cr/a-C coatings in aqueous solutions

Abstract

The Cr/a-C coatings were deposited using unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The influence of Cr content and salinity on the water-lubricated tribological properties of Cr/a-C coatings was investigated. The low Cr containing Cr/a-C coatings (?4.9at.%) exhibited low friction and wear, but the high Cr content would worsen their tribological properties in water. The lowest friction coefficient was obtained at 32.27‰, but the lowest wear rates of tribomaterials were acquired at 29.84‰