Formation and deposition of MoS2-nanoparticles

An in-situ process is under development to create a dispersed phase of lubricant MoS2 nanoparticles in a matrix of a hard TiN coating. The particles were formed by the reaction system MoCl5/H2S and MoCl5/S8. According to the requirements of a high temperature TiN CVD process and a low temperature TiN PACVD process, the particle formation at different total and partial pressures has been investigated. High yields of particles with diameters of 30 - 50 nm were obtained thermally at temperatures > 300°C and pressures > 5hPa with MoCl5/H2S as precursors. In the low pressure range particles were formed by a plasma CVD process using the reaction of elementary sulphur or H2S with MoCl5. The particles were investigated by laser light scattering, electron microscopy, WDX, EDX, TEM, XRD, BET and infrared spectroscopy