Hard-yet-tough coatings are required to protect structural materials, cutting, stamping, and forging tools operating under harsh conditions that combine wear, corrosion, and elevated temperatures. To reveal the high potential of niobium (Nb) as an additive to binary Ti-based coatings, single-layer and multilayer Nb-doped TiC coatings were obtained by pulsed arc evaporation (PAE), electro-spark deposition (ESD) in vacuum, and combination of these methods. Structure, elemental, and phase compositions were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The coatings were characterized in terms of their hardness, elastic modulus, tribological properties, and electrochemical behavior in 3.5% NaCl solution. Tribological tests were carried out under various conditions, such as applied load (5 and 10 N), medium (air and 3.5% NaCl solution), and counterpart material (Al₂O₃ and 440C steel). Thin PAE coating (1.8 μm thick) consisted of 2–5 × 50–100 nm (Ti,Nb)C crystallites, elongated in direction of the coating growth, embedded in an amorphous matrix (75% sp² + 25% sp³-hybridized carbon). Thick ESD coating (20 μm) contained TiC grains uniformly distributed in an eutectic Fe(Co)-Fe₂(Ti,Nb) matrix with a minor content of Ti-Ni and γ-Fe phases. The single-layer PAE coating demonstrated superior tribological performance both in air and 3.5% NaCl solution, as well as high oxidation resistance during tribocorrosion tests. As a top layer in the PAE/ESD coating, it provided wear protection of less wear-resistant ESD sublayer. It is assumed that the main benefit of the ESD sublayer in the PAE/ESD coating may be that it provides enhanced toughness and high thickness, which prevents a soft substrate from high stress-induced plastic deformation.

需要坚硬的涂层来保护结构材料，切削，冲压和锻造工具在恶劣的条件下运行，这些条件结合了磨损，腐蚀和高温。为了揭示铌（Nb）作为二元Ti基涂层添加剂的高潜力，通过在真空中通过脉冲电弧蒸发（PAE），电火花沉积（ESD）获得了单层和多层Nb掺杂TiC涂层，并结合使用这些方法。通过X射线衍射，扫描和透射电子显微镜，X射线光电子能谱和拉曼光谱研究了结构，元素和相组成。根据涂层的硬度，弹性模量，摩擦学特性和在3.5％NaCl溶液中的电化学行为对其进行表征。₂ O ₃和440C钢）。薄涂层PAE（1.8微米厚）由2-5×50-100纳米的（Ti，Nb的）C微晶，拉长在涂层增长，包埋在无定形基质（75％SP的方向²  + 25％SP ³ -杂化碳）。厚的ESD涂层（20μm）包含均匀分布在共晶Fe（Co）-Fe ₂中的TiC晶粒（Ti，Nb）基体，具有少量的Ti-Ni和γ-Fe相。单层PAE涂层在空气和3.5％NaCl溶液中均表现出优异的摩擦学性能，并且在摩擦腐蚀测试中具有较高的抗氧化性。作为PAE / ESD涂层的顶层，它提供了较少磨损的ESD子层的磨损保护。可以认为，PAE / ESD涂层中ESD子层的主要优点是可以提供增强的韧性和较高的厚度，从而可以防止柔软的基材发生高应力引起的塑性变形。