Self-assembled high-entropy nitride multilayer coating

The development of advanced materials and construction of multilayer structure contribute to enhancing the performance of protective coatings, further improving the industrial productivity and conserving energy. In this paper, the self-assembled high-entropy nitride (HEN) AlCrNbSiTiN multilayer coating was designed by harnessing the plasma distribution characteristics and deposited by arc ion plating using single target. A comprehensive discussion is provided on the morphology, compositional variation, microstructure and mechanical properties of the coating. The coating possesses a modulation period of ~ 12.5 nm and a nanocomposite structure of nanocrystals-HEN/nc-Si₃N₄. The analysis of tribological test reveals that the coating exhibits an extremely low wear rate of 3.7 × 10^–10 mm³·N⁻¹·m⁻¹, and the construction of multilayer structure effectually alters the cracking mechanism of the coating, enabling it to perform superior wear resistance. This research provides vital scientific ideas for the construction of novel multilayer coatings and development of high-performance protective coatings.