Microstructure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of CoCrFeNi-Ag-Mo Self-lubricating Composite

A CoCrFeNi-Ag-Mo self-lubricating composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The effect of Ag and Mo addition on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy (HEA) was systematically investigated. Ag addition led to the formation of Ag-rich phase in CoCrFeNi HEA matrix. With the addition of Mo, part of Ag-rich phases were distributed inside the Mo-rich phase. There were clear diffusion regions between Mo and HEA matrix, residual Mo phases and dispersed Ag-rich phases in Mo-rich phases. The hardness and strength were decreased with the addition of Ag and increased with the addition of Ag and Mo. The ultimate plasticity strain of CoCrFeNi-Ag-Mo composite exceeded 45%. The coupling addition of Ag and Mo effectively improved the tribological properties from room temperature to 800 °C. This phenomenon could be ascribed to the low hardness and yield strength of CoCrFeNi-Ag composite, as well as the thermo-softening due to the friction-induced heat and high experimental temperature. At room temperature, Ag-rich phases acted as a lubricant, and Mo-rich phases improved the anti-wear property. At 400 °C, tiny Ag particles were uniformly distributed on the worn surface, which played roles in friction-reducing. At 800 °C, the Ag2MoO4 layers in-situ formed by tribo-chemistry reactions offered good lubricating and anti-wear functions.