Tailoring self-lubricating, wear-resistance, anticorrosion and antifouling properties of Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coating in marine environment by controlling the content of Cu dopant

In this study, the Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coatings with various Cu contents were prepared on stainless steel substrates by RF/DC magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of Cu content on microstructure, mechanical, tribological, anticorrosion and antifouling properties of coating were systematically investigated. Results showed that the addition of Cu could modify the composited microstructure and enhance the multi-functional protection of Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coating. As the increase of Cu content, the surface roughness and sp2/sp3 ratio of Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coating presented an uptrend. Meanwhile, the hardness and elastic modulus of coating gradually displayed a downtrend. Overall, the coating with 7.6 at.% Cu exhibited optimal multi-functional protective effects in marine environment, including self-lubrication, wear-resistance, anticorrosion and antifouling ability. •Multi-functional Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coatings with different Cu content were deposited via RF/DC magnetron sputtering technique.•The surface roughness and sp2/sp3 ratio values gradually increased with the increase of Cu content.•The tribological, anticorrosion and antifouling properties of Ti/(Cu, MoS2)-DLC coatings could be tailored by Cu doping.