Effect of Microstructure and Alloy Additions on the Sliding Friction and Wear of Plasma Sprayed Molybdenum Alloy Coatings

Molybdenum based thermal spray coatings are used extensively for wear and friction control. However, the sprayed Mo lamellae have been found to have low breakout resistance leading to decreased wear life of these coatings. An alternate approach is to increase the strength of Mo lamellae by alloying them with Mo-C. This work examines the effect of such alloying on the differences in the friction and wear mechanisms of four Mo and Mo-Mo-C based coatings. It was found that alloying the Mo with Mo-C leads to an improvement in the friction behavior of Mo-Mo-C based coatings.