Nanoscale Layers Formed on the Surface of a Titanium Alloy by the Ion-Beam Mixing of Carbon with a Substrate

Abstract

A complex of studies of the composition, structure, and properties of nanoscale surface layers of titanium alloy VT6 formed by the ion-beam mixing of a carbon nanofilm is conducted. It is found that ion-beam mixing in the transition layer of a film/substrate system provides conditions for the formation of titanium carbides, the content of which increases to 20 at % with an increase in the irradiation dose. After both the deposition and ion-beam mixing of a carbon film, the hyperfine surface layer of the samples mostly consists of carbon atoms in a disordered state with sp²- and sp³-hybridized C–C bonds. It is revealed that the coherent scattering region of samples decreases after ion-beam mixing; this effect can be attributed to an increase in the dislocation density and the formation of dislocation substructures. The formation of titanium carbides, a disordered carbon structure, and dislocation substructures under ion-beam mixing conditions leads to a more than twofold increase in the microhardness of the samples.