Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition of Chromium Diboride-Rich Thin Films

Chromium borides are promising candidates for several structural applications including protective coatings for materials exposed to corrosive and abrasive environments. In this paper the pulsed laser deposition of chromium diboride-rich thin films has been carried out in vacuum by using a frequency doubled Nd:glass laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs. The films have been deposited at different substrate temperatures and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Lastly, the film’s hardness has been studied by Vickers indentation technique. The results indicate that only the films deposited at a substrate temperature of 500 °C are crystalline and formed by chromium diboride, together with a certain amount of boron and chromium, which suggests that, as main mechanism, a process taking place on the surface from atoms and ions from the gas phase. This hypothesis has been confirmed by the study of the plasma produced by the ablation process.

Synthesis of finely dispersed chromium diboride from nanofibrous carbon

The paper presents experimental data on synthesis of finely dispersed powder of chromium diboride. Chromium diboride was prepared by reduction of chromium oxide Cr2O3 with nanofibrous carbon (NFC) and boron carbide in the induction furnace under argon atmosphere. NFC is a product of catalytic decomposition of light hydro carbons. The main characteristic of a NFC is high specific surface area (~150,000 m2/kg), which is significantly higher than that of soot (~50,000 m2/kg). The content of impurities in NFC is about 1 wt %. Boron carbide used as a reagent is characterized by high dispersity (at the level of ~2 μm) and insignificant content of impurities – no more than 1.5 wt %. Based on analysis of state diagram of the Cr – B system, composition of the charge and upper temperature limit of diboride formation reaction were determined for obtaining chromium diboride in powder state. According to the results of thermodynamic analysis, the temperature of beginning of reaction for chromium oxide Cr2O3 reduction by carbon and boron carbide was determined at various CO pressures. Composition and characteristics of chromium diboride were studied using X-ray phase analysis, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (AES-ISP), scanning electron microscopy using local energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), low-temperature adsorption of nitrogen, followed by determination of specific surface area by BET method, sedi mentation analysis, synchronous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC). The material obtained at optimal parameters is represented by a single phase – chromium diboride CrB2 . The content of impurities in chromium diboride does not exceed 2.5 wt %. The powder particles were predominantly aggregated. The average size of the particles and aggregates is equal to 7.95 μm within a wide range of size distribution. The specific surface area of a single-phase sample is 3600 m2/kg. Oxidation of chromium diboride begins at a temperature of 430 °C and when the temperature reaches 1000 °C, the degree of oxidation is approximately 25 %. Optimum synthesis parameters are the ratio of reagents according to stoichiometry to obtain chromium diboride at a temperature of 1700 °C and holding time of 20 min. It is shown that for this process nanofibrous carbon is an effective reducing agent and that chromium oxide Cr2O3 is almost completely reduced to diboride CrB2 .