Xu, J.Wu, J.Li, Z.Munroe, P.Xie, Z.2013-08-012013-08-012013Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2013; 565:127-1330925-83881873-4669http://hdl.handle.net/2440/78995Novel Cr-alloyed MoSi<inf>2</inf>-based nanocomposite coatings were successfully synthesized onto Ti-6Al-4V substrates by a double glow discharge plasma technique. The architecture of the nanocomposite coatings exhibited a hierarchical structure, consisting of equiaxed C40-MoSi<inf>2</inf> with a bimodal grain size distribution and strip-shaped Mo<inf>5</inf>Si<inf>3</inf> grains segregated to the boundaries of submicron MoSi<inf>2</inf> grains. The results showed that the toughness of the MoSi<inf>2</inf>-based nanocomposite coatings depended strongly upon their hierarchical structure and the magnitude of compressive residual stresses in the nanocomposite coatings. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.en© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Transition metal silicidesFirst-principle calculationNanocompositeMechanical propertiesResidual stressesJournal article002012877210.1016/j.jallcom.2013.02.1340003178153000202-s2.0-8487540546719302