Wear behavior of niobium boride coatings

Abstract

Boride coatings on corrosion resistant refractory metals are potentially used as implanting materials. In this research, we investigated wear mechanisms of boride coatings on pure niobium using a pin-on-disk tribometer. Surface morphology studied using scanning electron microscope shows the compressed boride layer with indistinguishable regions such as coating intermediate transition layer and the substrate. The surface analysis after wear tests was conducted using an atomic force microscope (AFM). It was found that the boride coating underwent deformation wear, and debris formed and accumulated at both ends of the track due to adhesion. Copyright © 2005 by ASTM International. © 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.