The tribological performance of super-hard Ta:C DLC coatings obtained by low-temperature PVD

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are widely used in industry for decorative/protective purposes or toimprove tribological performance in mechanical components. In this study, three types of commercial DLCcoatings have been tested and analysed to verify their potential as functional coatings to improve the wearresistance of mechanical components. DLC coatings commercially known as Dianoir, Dropless5000, and Drop-less7000 were deposited on AISI 52100 steel through a proprietary cathodic arc physical vapour deposition(PVD) technique, and their properties were compared considering the differences in morphology, thickness,scratch resistance and pin-on-disc test results. The tested coatings showed excellent performance in terms of wearresistance and friction reduction, thereby showing that these coatings may be successfully applied to mechanicalcomponents in several applications