New Paper - TiN, CrN and TiCrN coating architectures on M2 steel: consequences for wear and micro-impact resistance

evaluating the mechanical, tribological and impact performance of multilayer coatings on M2 steel
19 January 2026 by
Alison Schaal

Micro Materials is pleased to announce the publication of a new study evaluating the mechanical, tribological, and impact performance of three arc-evaporated multilayer coatings deposited on hardened M2 steel, namely:

➡️ TiN/TiCrN/TiN,

➡️ TiN/TiCrN/(TiN/CrN)₁₀/TiN, and

➡️ (Cr/CrN)₂₅.

Microstructural analysis, as detailed in the study, revealed dense, fine-grained columnar growth in all coatings. Compared to a TiN monolayer, all multilayer architectures exhibited superior wear resistance, with the (Cr/CrN)25 coating being most resistant to chipping in the micro-impact tests.

The study, published in Surface and Coatings Technology vol 522 was the outcome of an international collaboration led by Daniel Toboła, from Poland's largest research network, the Łukasiewicz Research Network - Krakow Institute of Technology, Micro Materials Ltd's Director of Materials Research, Ben Beake and Tomasz Liskiewicz - The Manchester Metropolitan University, supported by

Puneet Chandran,PhD & Kazimierz Czechowski (both also from the Lukasiewicz Research network)

Łukasz Maj - Polish Academy of Sciences

Atreya Danturthi - University of Leeds

Thawhid Khan -The University of Sheffield

Yanfei Liu - Beijing Institute of Technology

Cezary Drenda - AGH University of Krakow


You can gain free access to the full article in Surface & Coatings Technology until 25th February 2026, by following this link:

https://lnkd.in/es5fZyPN


Further information on the impact test capabilities of our NanoTest nanonomechanical testing platforms is available here:

https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/impact Start writing here...