Preparation process and mechanical properties of laser cladding gradient molybdenum coating on copper alloy

Different types of Mo coatings were prepared on the surface of a copper alloy via laser cladding technology in this study to address the problem of low hardness of copper alloy current-carrying friction subsets. Meanwhile, the problems of high reflectivity of copper alloy materials to infrared laser light and mutual insolubility of Cu and Mo were solved by introducing an intermediate layer structure, and the coating process was optimized to obtain a coating with excellent formation. The microstructure, hardness, and interfacial shear bond strength of coatings were tested. Results showed that the Mo coating prepared using a plasma-spheroidized powder had a lower dilution rate and finer and tighter grain growth compared with the Mo coating prepared by crushing agglomerated powder. The coating phase mainly consisted of Mo, Ni3Mo, MoO2, and Cu0.81Ni0.19. The unfused particles present in the plasma-spheroidized powder coating acted as a second hard reinforcing phase, which could significantly increase the hardness of the coating. Three kinds of coatings exhibited strong bond strength, and coatings prepared from different powders fractured in diverse ways. In sum, the plasma-spheroidized Mo coating prepared using the three-way powder feeding method not only had good formation but also possessed the most excellent mechanical properties.