Heat treatment effect on the mechanical properties of nanostructured carbon coatings

Abstract

The effect of heat treatment temperature on the microhardness and tribotechnical properties of carbon coatings, formed from the plasma of a pulsed cathode-arc discharge on a polyacrylamide sublayer, has been determined. The heat treatment of carbon-based systems leads to a decrease in their microhardness and friction coefficient with a simultaneous increase in the volumetric wear coefficient of the counterbody. It is due to sp³→sp² phase transitions and CNₓ-type compounds arising through cyclization processes during heat treatment.