Tribological and Mechanical Performance of Ti2AlC and Ti3AlC2 Thin Films

M n +1 AX n (MAX) phases are novel structural and functional materials with a layered crystal structure. Their unique properties such as good machinability, high electrical conductivity, low friction, and corrosion resistance are appealing for many engineering applications. Herein, Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 MAX thin films are synthesized by magnetron sputtering and subsequent thermal annealing. A multilayer approach is used to deposit single‐element nanolayers of titanium, aluminum, and carbon onto silicon substrates with a double‐layer‐diffusion barrier of SiO 2 and Si x N y . Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 thin films (thickness ≈500 nm) are formed via rapid thermal annealing and verified by X‐Ray diffraction. Nanoindentation tests show hardness values of about 11.6 and 5.3 GPa for Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 , respectively. The tribological behavior of the Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 thin films against AISI 52100 steel balls under dry sliding conditions is studied using ball‐on‐flat tribometry. The resulting coefficient of friction (CoF) for Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 ranges between 0.21–0.42 and 0.64–0.91, respectively. The better tribological behavior observed for Ti 2 AlC thin films is ascribed to its smaller grain size, reduced surface roughness, and higher hardness.