Interfacial structure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coating by filtered cathode vacuum arc technique

In this study, Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coatings were deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technique based on the construction of metal/ceramic nano-multilayer coatings, and the microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and corrosion mechanism of the coatings were investigated. The results showed that Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coating presented a nanocomposite interface, which prevented the growth of columnar crystals and the expansion of dislocation, resulted in a significant superhard effect and enhanced the hardness of TiSiN coatings (45.99 GPa). The addition of soft metal Cr layer improved the adhesion between TiSiN coating and substrate. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coatings was substantially improved, and the corrosion current density (I_corr) reached 1.299 × 10⁻⁹ A/cm². This was attributed to the good surface quality and the nanocomposite structure that effectively prevent the deeper penetration of corrosive media. Therefore, Cr/TiSiN nano-multilayer coatings with high surface quality exhibited excellent corrosion resistance in harsh corrosive environments.