Effect of inserting the Zr layers on the tribo-corrosion behavior of Zr/ZrN multilayer coatings on titanium alloys

In this work, tribo-corrosion behavior of Zr/ZrN multilayer coatings in simulated body fluid (SBF) was investigated. The results indicated that Zr/ZrN-7 multilayer coatings possessed superior corrosion and tribo-corrosion resistance than the single ZrN coating. The effective inhibition of corrosive medium permeating by both forming a ZrO2 passive film and a multilayer structure contributed to the superior corrosion resistance. Furthermore, the improved corrosion, as well as suppressing crack propagation by the insertion of the Zr layer, enhanced the tribo-corrosion performance. Inserting Zr layers was found to be an effective method to improve the tribo-corrosion performance of Zr/ZrN multilayer coatings.