Fabrication and tribological properties of Al2O3/TiC ceramic with nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings

To improve the tribological properties of the solid contact surfaces, the surface micro/nano-texturing and thin film lubrication are two effective ways to alleviate adhesion, friction and wear of the counter-parts. In this paper, the nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings were made on the Al2O3/TiC ceramic surface by femtosecond laser technology and physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The microstructural and fundamental properties of the nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings were examined, and the friction and wear properties of nano-textures, WS2/Zr soft-coatings and a combination of nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings on Al2O3/TiC ceramic surface were investigated by carrying out sliding friction tests. Results show that nano-textures increase the adhesion strength between the coatings and substrate; the friction coefficient and wear are reduced by the nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings, a combination of nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings shows the best efficiency in improving the tribological properties; meanwhile, the nano-textures significantly increase the wear life of initial WS2/Zr lubricant coatings. The possible effect mechanism of the nano-textures and WS2/Zr soft-coatings was discussed.