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Cr-Based Sputtered Decorative Coatings for Automotive Industry
- Source :
- Materials, Vol 14, Iss 19, p 5527 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2021.
-
Abstract
- The present work aims to study the impact of O and N addition on Cr-sputtered coatings on plastic (polycarbonate, PC) used in automobile parts, as a promisor alternative for auto part metallization, while eliminating the usage of toxic hexavalent chromium. The coatings were deposited using DC magnetron sputtering from a single pure Cr target in a reactive atmosphere (N2 and/or O2). The deposition of the coatings was performed maintaining the total pressure constant and close to 1 Pa by tuning Ar pressure while reactive gases were added. The target current density was kept at JW = 20 mA·cm−2. Structural characterization revealed a mixture of α-Cr, δ-Cr, β-Cr2N, and CrN crystalline structures as well as amorphous oxides. The coating hardness ranged from 9 GPa for the CrON coating to 15 GPa for the CrN coating. All deposited coatings showed a particularly good interface adhesion; adjusting the amount of O and N made it possible to tune the optical properties of the Cr-based coatings as desired. The promising results open future industrialization of sputtered Cr-based coatings for automotive industries.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19961944
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 19
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Materials
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.921c3718b4134b6f83756435c9bf1c48
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195527