Preparation and Tribological Properties of AT13/WS₂ Composite Coating

Al₂O₃–13%TiO₂ (AT13) ceramic coating and AT13/WS₂ composite coating were prepared by plasma spraying technology and hydrothermal reaction synthesis method, the effect of in-situ synthesized WS₂ on the tribological properties of AT13 was studied by multi-functional tribology testing machine (MTTM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AT13/WS₂ composite coating phase composition and micro morphology were analyzed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X ray diffractometry (XRD) to explore the wear mechanism of the material. The results show that AT13/WS₂ composite coating can be prepared successfully by hydrothermal reaction, which can synthesize WS₂ powder in microcracks and pores of AT13 surface. Under the dry friction test conditions, the friction coefficient of the composite coating (~0.2) is significantly lower than that of the AT13 coating (~0.7). Moreover, at the microscopic scale, the transverse friction of AT13/WS₂ composite coating (0.1 V) is also surpassed than that of AT13 coating (0.5 V). Severe abrasive wear and brittle spalling are the main cause of the wear of AT13 coating, and the introduction of WS₂ can improve the wear of AT13 coating, and AT13/WS₂ composite coatings exhibit excellent self-lubricating performance.