Polycrystalline material comprising a plurality of nano-grains of a crystalline phase of an iron group element and a plurality of crystalline grains of material including carbon (C) or nitrogen (N); each nano-grain having a mean size less than 10 nanometres.

Polycrystalline material comprising a plurality of nano-grains of a crystalline phase of an iron group element and a plurality of crystalline grains of material including carbon (C) or nitrogen (N); each nano-grain having a mean size less than 10 nanometres.

A surface-coated TiN-based cermet cutting tool is a surface-coated TiN-based cermet cutting tool, in which a TiN-based cermet containing a TiN phase as a hard phase component is used as a body, and a hard coating layer including a titanium carbonitride layer and an aluminum oxide layer is formed on a surface, in which a linear expansion coefficient of the TiN-based cermet is set to 9.0×10.sup.−6 (/K) or more, a thermal conductivity is set to 30 (W/m.Math.K) or more, and a residual compressive stress of the hard coating layer is set to 600 to 2,000 MPa, and particularly 600 to 2,000 MPa even in an as-deposited state by adjusting component composition and the like of the TiN-based cermet.

A surface-coated TiN-based cermet cutting tool is a surface-coated TiN-based cermet cutting tool, in which a TiN-based cermet containing a TiN phase as a hard phase component is used as a body, and a hard coating layer including a titanium carbonitride layer and an aluminum oxide layer is formed on a surface, in which a linear expansion coefficient of the TiN-based cermet is set to 9.0×10.sup.−6 (/K) or more, a thermal conductivity is set to 30 (W/m.Math.K) or more, and a residual compressive stress of the hard coating layer is set to 600 to 2,000 MPa, and particularly 600 to 2,000 MPa even in an as-deposited state by adjusting component composition and the like of the TiN-based cermet.

Provided is a hard sintered body which exhibits excellent high temperature oxidation resistance and has a high hardness at a high temperature. In the hard sintered body, a binder phase is contained at from 8.8 to 34.4 mol % and the balance is composed of a hard phase and inevitable impurities. The binder phase contains iron aluminide containing FeAl as a main component and alumina that is dispersed in iron aluminide and has a particle size of 1 μm or less. The hard phase is composed of at least one kind selected from carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides and borides of Group 4 metals, Group 5 metals and Group 6 metals in the periodic table, and solid solutions of these. This hard sintered body is obtained by mixing and pulverizing a binding particle powder containing an iron aluminide powder composed of at least one kind selected from FeAl.sub.2, Fe.sub.2Al.sub.5 and FeAl.sub.3 and a hard particle powder composed of at least one kind selected from carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides and borides of Group 4 metals, Group 5 metals and Group 6 metals in the periodic table and then sintering a mixed powder thus obtained.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating layer provided on the substrate, the coating layer including a multilayer structure layer composed of a first unit layer and a second unit layer, and a lone layer, the lone layer including cubic Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN crystal grains, an atomic ratio z of Ti in the Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN being 0.4 or more and less than 0.55, the lone layer having a thickness with an average value of 2.5 nm or more and 10 nm or less, the multilayer structure layer having a thickness with an average value of 10 nm or more and 45 nm or less, one multilayer structure layer and one lone layer forming a repetitive unit having a thickness with an average value of 20 nm to 50 nm, a maximum value of 40 nm to 60 nm, and a minimum value of 10 nm to 30 nm.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating layer provided on the substrate, the coating layer including a multilayer structure layer composed of a first unit layer and a second unit layer, and a lone layer, the lone layer including cubic Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN crystal grains, an atomic ratio z of Ti in the Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN being 0.4 or more and less than 0.55, the lone layer having a thickness with an average value of 2.5 nm or more and 10 nm or less, the multilayer structure layer having a thickness with an average value of 10 nm or more and 45 nm or less, one multilayer structure layer and one lone layer forming a repetitive unit having a thickness with an average value of 20 nm to 50 nm, a maximum value of 40 nm to 60 nm, and a minimum value of 10 nm to 30 nm.

An abrasive article, comprising a polycrystalline material comprising abrasive grains and a filler material having an average negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within a range of temperatures between about 70 K to about 1500 K. A method of forming an abrasive article, comprising preparing an abrasive material, preparing a filler material having an average negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within a range of temperatures between about 150 K to about 1500 K, and forming a polycrystalline material comprising grains of the abrasive material and the filler material.

An abrasive article, comprising a polycrystalline material comprising abrasive grains and a filler material having an average negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within a range of temperatures between about 70 K to about 1500 K. A method of forming an abrasive article, comprising preparing an abrasive material, preparing a filler material having an average negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within a range of temperatures between about 150 K to about 1500 K, and forming a polycrystalline material comprising grains of the abrasive material and the filler material.

A hard material which, when used as a material of a sintered material, makes it possible to obtain a sintered material with excellent abrasion resistance, a sintered material, a cutting tool including the sintered material, a method for manufacturing the hard material and a method for manufacturing the sintered material are provided. The hard material contains aluminum, nitrogen, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of titanium, chromium, and silicon, and has a cubic rock salt structure.