Nanostructures

Nanocomposites: Composite of non-mixable components. Nanocrystalline grains are embedded into an amorphous matrix.

Main advantages:

• extremely high nanohardness at very high toughness
• extremely high heat resistance

Example: Walk on the seaside

• The foot sinks in dry sand.
• Not in the wet sand. Because the spaces between the sand grains are filled with water. The surface has a higher resistance, so it is harder.

In the nanocomposite coatings the nanocrystalline grains (AlTiN, AlCrN, etc.) are the hard grains. The tough Si3N4 is the binder.