Abstract:The structure and properties of Ti-B-N coatings prepared by radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PCVD) have been investigated in this work. The coatings were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and optical microscopy. Ball-on-disk tribometer and microscopic hardness tester were employed in evaluating the mechanical properties of the coatings. The results show that the structure of the coatings is a nanocomposite, where nanocrystalline TiN is embedded in the amorphous BN and TiB2 matrix. Compared with TiN coatings, the micro-hardness of Ti-B-N coatings can reach 40 GPa. The wear resistances of Ti-B-N coatings remarkably increase with a certain addition of boron, which caused the change of friction mechanism of TiN coatings, although its friction coefficient is higher than that of TiN.