Abstract
An electroless nickel deposit is introduced as an interlayer between a carbon steel substrate and r.f.-magnetron-sputtered TiN films, and a compound coating assembly TiN/Ni 3 P/Fe is derived after appropriate heat treatment. The pin-on-disc test is employed to evaluate the wear behaviour of the fabricated compound coating. The depth profiles of the wear track are measured with an α-step and the morphology of the wear track is investigated with the aid of a scanning electron microscope. It is observed that the track depth in TiN/Ni 3 P/Fe is about an order of magnitude smaller than that in the Fe substrate, and the employment of an electroless Ni interlayer in TiN coating provides beneficial anti-wear resistance. © 1993.