Influence of negative bias voltage on the mechanical and tribological properties of MoS₂/Zr composite films

MoS₂/Zr composite fi lms were deposited on the cemented carbide YT14 (WC+14%TiC+6%Co) by medium-frequency magnetron sputtered and coupled with multi-arc ion plated techniques. The infl uence of negative bias voltage on the composite fi lm properties, including adhesion strength, micro-hardness, thickness and tribological properties were investigated. The results showed that proper negative bias voltage could significantly improve the mechanical and tribological properties of composite films. The effects of negative bias voltage on fi lm properties were also put forward. The optimal negative bias voltage was -200 V under this experiment conditions. The obtained composite fi lms were dense, the adhesion strength was about 60 N, the thickness was about 2.4 μm, and the micro-hardness was about 9.0 GPa. The friction coefficient and wear rate was 0.12 and 2.1×10^-7 cm³/N•m respectively after 60 m sliding operation against hardened steel under a load of 20 N and a sliding speed of 200 rev•min^-1.