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Toughening mechanisms in V-Si-N coatings

Toughening mechanisms in V-Si-N coatings
Toughening mechanisms in V-Si-N coatings

Microstructural evolution and deformation mechanisms of magnetron sputtered V-Si-N coatings with various Si contents are investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations. A small amount of Si atoms was dissolved into the cubic VN lattice, locally reducing the neighboring V-N p-d hybridization near the Si site. The Si content was found to impact the architecture of coating significantly. With increasing Si content, the microstructure evolved through three different architectures: (i) highly textured columnar grains, (ii) refined columnar grains, and (iii) nanocomposite structures where elongated grains were bounded by vein-like boundaries. Enhanced damage tolerance was observed in the nanocomposite structure, where multiple toughening mechanisms become active. Ab initio calculations revealed that the incorporation of Si monolayer in the (1 1 1)-oriented VN resulted in the formation of weaker Si-N bonds compared to V-N bonds, which allowed a selective response to strain and shear deformations by assisting the activation of the slip systems.

Ab initio simulations, Friedel oscillations, Grain boundaries, Physical vapor deposition, Superhard nanocomposite, Toughening mechanisms
0264-1275
Ge, F. F.
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Sen, H. S.
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Daghbouj, N.
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Callisti, M.
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Feng, Y. J.
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Li, B. S.
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Zhu, P.
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Li, P.
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Meng, F. P.
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Polcar, T.
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Huang, F.
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Ge, F. F.
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Sen, H. S.
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Daghbouj, N.
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Callisti, M.
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Feng, Y. J.
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Li, B. S.
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Zhu, P.
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Li, P.
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Meng, F. P.
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Polcar, T.
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Huang, F.
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Ge, F. F., Sen, H. S., Daghbouj, N., Callisti, M., Feng, Y. J., Li, B. S., Zhu, P., Li, P., Meng, F. P., Polcar, T. and Huang, F. (2021) Toughening mechanisms in V-Si-N coatings. Materials and Design, 209, [109961]. (doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2021.109961).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Microstructural evolution and deformation mechanisms of magnetron sputtered V-Si-N coatings with various Si contents are investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations. A small amount of Si atoms was dissolved into the cubic VN lattice, locally reducing the neighboring V-N p-d hybridization near the Si site. The Si content was found to impact the architecture of coating significantly. With increasing Si content, the microstructure evolved through three different architectures: (i) highly textured columnar grains, (ii) refined columnar grains, and (iii) nanocomposite structures where elongated grains were bounded by vein-like boundaries. Enhanced damage tolerance was observed in the nanocomposite structure, where multiple toughening mechanisms become active. Ab initio calculations revealed that the incorporation of Si monolayer in the (1 1 1)-oriented VN resulted in the formation of weaker Si-N bonds compared to V-N bonds, which allowed a selective response to strain and shear deformations by assisting the activation of the slip systems.

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Accepted/In Press date: 5 July 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 7 July 2021
Published date: 1 November 2021
Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 51871231). This study was financially supported by the Czech Science Foundation in the frame of the project 17-17921S and the European Regional Development Fund (project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000778). Also, this work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic through the e-INFRA CZ (ID:90140). M.C. acknowledges Innovate UK (reference number: 113072) for financial support.
Keywords: Ab initio simulations, Friedel oscillations, Grain boundaries, Physical vapor deposition, Superhard nanocomposite, Toughening mechanisms

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 454499
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454499
ISSN: 0264-1275
PURE UUID: de880273-6aa0-4552-b37c-8ecdfd8fba24
ORCID for T. Polcar: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0863-6287

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Date deposited: 14 Feb 2022 17:37
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:19

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Contributors

Author: F. F. Ge
Author: H. S. Sen
Author: N. Daghbouj
Author: M. Callisti
Author: Y. J. Feng
Author: B. S. Li
Author: P. Zhu
Author: P. Li
Author: F. P. Meng
Author: T. Polcar ORCID iD
Author: F. Huang

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