1. Designing hard wear-resistant conductors by introducing high-plasma-energy heterogeneous metals into transition metal nitrides.
- Author
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Li, Yuankai, Hu, Chaoquan, Wu, Yao, Qiao, Zhenan, Cheng, Yifan, Gu, Zhiqing, Gao, Gang, and Zheng, Weitao
- Subjects
TRANSITION metal nitrides ,NITRIDES ,THIN films ,ELECTRIC conductivity ,WEAR resistance ,SOLID solutions - Abstract
• A new strategy of introducing high- E p metals into TMNs is proposed for HWCs design. • Adding Ag induces better conductivity than adding Ta due to the E p - τ synergistic effect. • Hf 0.92 Ag 0.08 N solid-solution coatings can be used as new HWCs for harsh environment. Hard and wear-resistant conductors (HWCs) have important applications in the next-generation sliding electrical contacts. However, Cu- and Pt-based alloys, two commonly used HWCs, have very low hardness despite their good electrical conductivity. In this letter, we integrate high hardness, wear resistance, and good electrical conductivity in one material by introducing high-plasma-energy (E p) heterogeneous metals (e.g., Ag or Ta) to transition metal nitrides (e.g., HfN). The obtained solid solution films (such as Hf 0.92 Ag 0.08 N) not only have the good electrical conductivity as traditional HWCs (such as Pt-Ir alloy) but also exhibit much higher hardness and wear resistance than traditional HWCs. Introducing Ag and Ta can improve the hardness and wear resistance of HfN almost equally, but the introduction of Ag can provide better electrical conductivity. This is because the introduction of Ag induces a synergistic effect of E p and relaxation time (τ), while the introduction of Ta results in a competitive effect of E p and τ. Through the combination of first-principles calculations and experiments, we explain the physical mechanisms of these two effects and draw a map of candidate materials with the synergistic effect. Therefore, the new HWC design strategy proposed in this study not only broadens the range of applications for transition metal nitrides but also breaks the bottleneck of integrating high hardness, high electrical conductivity, and wear resistance. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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