Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Cr-Ni 3 Al Alloy Films Synthesized by Magnetron Sputtering

Cr-Ni 3 Al alloy films have been deposited on Si (100) substrate via DC magnetron sputtering. The effect of Cr enrichment on microstructure and mechanical properties has been studied. The evolution of phases, microstructure, surface topography and mechanical properties has been studied using GI-XRD, FE-SEM, AFM and quasi-static nanoindentation, respectively. Results revealed that the alloy films possessed a preferred orientation of (111) plane with a maximum hardness and Young’s modulus of ~ 12.7 GPa and ~ 203 GPa for 0 W Cr-Ni 3 Al films which further decreased to ~ 7 GPa and 129 GPa, respectively, for 40 W Cr-Ni 3 Al films. The reported values of hardness and Young’s modulus are very high in the case of alloy Ni 3 Al-based coatings when compared with the literature. This study also imitates that with the increase in Cr concentration in the host Ni 3 Al matrix, the surface roughness increased as a result of the evolution of pores. However, hydrophobicity is observed to be increased with increase in Cr concentration in host Ni 3 Al coatings with a maximum contact angle of 115.9° for 40 W Cr-Ni 3 Al alloy film. Graphical Abstract