Microstructures and Properties of Nanostructured TiN/MoS₂/Ag Composite Film Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

In this work, the structural and mechanical properties, tribological performance, and lubrication mechanism from room temperature to 900 °C of TiN/MoS₂/Ag composite films were investigated in detail. Nanostructured TiN/MoS₂/Ag composite film was obtained by assembling targets using pulsed laser deposition. The incorporation of lubricant layered MoS₂ and soft metal Ag led to degraded mechanical properties, which could contribute to the lower friction coefficients at low temperatures. When the temperature increased to above 500 °C, the generated high-temperature lubricant MoO₃ and silver molybdates played a critical synergetic lubrication effect, which formed a layer of lubricating film and reduced the friction coefficient. Thus, the cooperation of various lubrication phases contributed to improvement of tribological performance and resulted in continuous lubrication from room temperature to 900 °C.