Tribological Behavior of Vacuum Plasma Sprayed B$lt;inf$gt;4$lt;/inf$gt;C-Mo Composite Coating

A B 4 C-Mo composite coating was fabricated using a vacuum plasma spray technique, and its wear behavior was compared with that of a pure B 4 C coating. The microstructure of the composite coating was much more homogeneous and compact as a result of the formation of a (B, Mo) C transition phase, which effectively improved the interface between B 4 C and Mo splats. For this reason, the wear resistance of the composite coating was much superior to that of the pure B 4 C coating. The distribution of nano-sized Mo in the composite coating might also contribute to the improved tribological properties.