Investigations on microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of TiN coatings deposited on three different tool materials

TiN coating was deposited on high-speed steel, cemented carbide and TiCN-based cermets using arc evaporation. The variation of substrates was to evaluate the effect of tool materials on the coating's microstructure, composition, hardness, adhesion and tribological properties. The TiN coating on all tool materials had a strong preferred TiN (111) orientation. The TiN coating on high-speed steel grew so fast in the vertical direction that the columnar crystal structure was noticeable. The columnar structure of TiN coating on TiCN-based cermets weakened for the reduced vertical growth rate. The Ti/N atomic content ratio of the TiN coating on high-speed steel was 0.84, and some N atoms formed an interstitial solid solution, which contributed to the increased hardness of the coating. However, the Ti/N atomic content ratio of TiN coating on TiCN-based cermets increased to 1.04. Due to the low residual stress, the adhesion of TiN coating on TiCN-based cermets and cemented carbide was noticeably higher than that of coating on high-speed steel. The wear mechanism of TiN coatings on all tool materials tested against with steel balls was mainly abrasive wear. An iron oxide film appeared on the coated TiCN-based sample, which directly caused the friction coefficient to decrease from 0.8 to 0.6. Therefore, the TiN coating on TiCN-based cermets had the best wear resistance. •Microstructure and properties of TiN coating were affected by the tool materials.•TiN coating on high-speed steel had high hardness and H3/E*2 ratio.•TiN coating on cemented carbide and TiCN-based cermets had high adhesion.•Iron oxide formed in the wear process exhibited a good anti-friction effect.•TiN coating on TiCN-based cermets possessed the best wear resistance.