Load-adaptive crystalline–amorphous nanocomposites

Advances in laser-assisted deposition have enabled the production of hard composites consisting of nanocrystalline and amorphous materials. Deposition conditions were selected to produce super-tough coatings, where controlled formation of dislocations, nanocracks and microcracks was permitted as stresses exceeded the elastic limit. This produced a self-adjustment in the composite deformation from hard elastic to quasiplastic, depending on the applied stress, which provided coating compliance and eliminated catastrophic failure typical of hard and brittle materials. The load-adaptive concept was used to design super-tough coatings consisting of nanocrystalline (10–50 nm) TiC grains embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix (about 30 vol%). They were deposited at near room temperature on steel surfaces and studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation and scratch tests. Design concepts were verified using composition–structure–property investigations in the TiC–amorphous carbon (a-C) system. A fourfold increase in the toughness of hard (32 GPa) TiC–a-C composites was achieved in comparison with nanocrystalline single-phase TiC.