Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> In order to explore the corrosion and tribocorrosion properties of multilayered Mo-Cr-Al-N based coatings on the surface of the metal matrix in the marine environment. The individual Mo <sub> <italic>x</italic> </sub> N, AlCrN and multilayered Mo <sub>2</sub> N/AlCrN coatings have been deposited on 304 stainless steel by arc ion plating technology. After the conventional characterizations including phase structure, morphology, nanohardness and dry friction coefficient being achieved, the primary electrochemical workstation and tribocorrosion tester were employed to measure corrosive and tribocorrosion parameters of the coatings and substrate in artificial seawater, respectively. Compared to the individual Mo <sub> <italic>x</italic> </sub> N and AlCrN coatings, a kind of robust multilayered Mo <sub>2</sub> N/AlCrN coatings with hardness (H) over 32 GPa, elastic modulus (E) about 413 GPa, and the highest H <sup>3</sup> /E <sup>*2</sup> value can show high hardness and excellent toughness, which might be related to the formation of face-centered cubic (Cr, Al, Mo)N solid solutions. Besides, results from electrochemical testing reveal the self-corrosion current density of Mo <sub>2</sub> N/AlCrN coatings is two orders magnitude lower than that of Mo <sub> <italic>x</italic> </sub> N coating and 304 SS. The introduction of Mo element can reduce the friction force and improve the wear resistance of the coating, and the passivated (Cr, Al)O films on the surface can also effectively to resist the corrosion and tribocorrosion. Therefore, combined with the fine grain strengthening of <italic>fcc</italic> structural solid solutions, the formations of self-lubricating molybdenum oxides as well as the passive films on the surface can significantly improve the corrosion and tribocorrosion resistance properties of the multilayered Mo <sub>2</sub> N/AlCrN coatings. </p>