Tribological Properties of Carbon Coatings Produced by High Temperature Chlorination of Silicon Carbide

The tribological properties of highly disordered graphitic carbon layers formed on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates by reaction with chlorine and chlorine-hydrogen gas mixtures at 1000 °C were studied. Si was selectively removed from the near surface of SiC by chlorine gas, leaving behind a layer of carbon having high structural density and strong bonding characteristics. Tribological tests showed that the carbon films were highly adherent and able to reduce friction coefficients of the base SiC by factors of up to seven. There was little or no change in the factional behavior of carbon layers when sliding velocity and load were increased. Low friction coefficients (～0.1) could be obtained under wet, dry, polished, and rough conditions. The initially rough carbon surface underwent plastic flow producing a smooth, self-adjusting carbon layer. Structural morphology and the amount of disorder in the carbon layers were correlated with the friction and wear performance of the resultant films.     

Ultra-High Tribological Performance of Magnetron Sputtered a-C:H Films in Sand-Dust Environment

The hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films were prepared on AISI 440C steel substrates using a RF magnetron sputtering graphite target in the CH₄ and Ar mixture atmosphere. The friction and wear behavior of a-C:H films were comparatively investigated by pin-on-disc tester under dry sliding and simulated sand-dust wear conditions. In addition, the effects of applied load, amount of sand and sand particle sizes on the tribological performance of a-C:H films were systemically studied. Results show that a-C:H films exhibited ultra-high tribological performance with low friction coefficient and ultra-low wear rate under sand-dust environments. It is very interesting to observe that the friction coefficient of a-C:H film under sand-dust conditions was relatively lower when compared with dry sliding condition, and the wear rate under sand-dust conditions kept at the same order of magnitude (×10⁻¹⁹ m³/N m) with the increase of applied load and particle size as a comparison with the dry sliding condition. Based on the formation of “ridge” layer (composite transfer layer), a transfer layer-hardening composite model was established to explain the anti-wear mechanisms and friction-reducing capacity of a-C:H solid lubrication films under sand-dust conditions.     

Tribological properties of nickel-base nanocrystalline coatings sputter-deposited on austenitic stainless steel

500 nm-thick films are deposited on austenitic stainless steel by neutral (Ar⁺) or reactive (N⁺) ion beam sputtering of Ni or NiTi targets, with (or without) high energy 160 keV-Ar⁺ ion beam assistance. Most of the time the coatings are nanocrystalline and induce a large (excellent in some conditions) increase of the wear resistance. Only Ar⁺ ion beam sputtering of a NiTi target gives an amorphous deposit which does not improve the substrate tribological properties. The hardness and wear resistance of ion beam assisted films are larger than those obtained with non-ion beam assisted coatings. The presence of a hard TiN phase inside a ductile Ni phase, of grains with preferential orientation beneficial to slip, as well as film densification are the main factors which increase the wear resistance. The best results are obtained when the structure is composed of two phases, Ni and TiN. The TiN phase strengthens the already good tribological Ni properties and the Ni ductility induces mechanical accommodation during the friction process.     

Microstructure, Morphology and Properties of Titanium Containing Graphite-Like Carbon Films Deposited by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

A series of graphite-like carbon films with a titanium concentration of about 3.0 at.% were successfully deposited on silicon wafer substrates using an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system with different bias voltages. The microstructure, surface morphology, and properties of the titanium-containing graphite-like carbon films were subsequently studied using different characterization techniques. The results show that the resulting titanium-containing graphite-like carbon films are completely dominated by sp² sites and that these films have moderate hardness, low internal stress, and superior tribological properties with low friction and a high load-bearing capacity. The hardness (H), elastic modulus (E), H/E, H ³/E ², and internal stress of the titanium-containing graphite-like carbon films initially increase with increasing bias voltage, only to be followed by a decrease with further increases in the bias voltage. Tribologically, the studied carbon film shows a slight increase in friction with increasing bias voltage, while the wear rate initially decreases, followed by an obvious increase. The tribological properties of the studied titanium-containing graphite-like carbon films are greatly improved under the liquid paraffin-lubricated condition, achieving extremely low friction (~0.045) and wear (~10^?9 mm³/Nm). The effect of bias voltage on the microstructure and properties of the titanium-containing graphite-like carbon films is discussed in detail.     

Tribological Performance of Diamond and Diamondlike Carbon Films at Elevated Temperatures

In this study, the authors investigated the tribological performance of diamond and diamondlike carbon (DLC) films as a function of temperature. Both films were deposited on silicon carbide (SiC) by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and ion-beam deposition processes. Tribological tests were performed on a reciprocating wear machine in open air (20 to 30% relative humidity) and under a 10 N load using SiC pins. For the test conditions explored, the steady-state friction coefficients of test pairs without a diamond or DLC film were 0.7 to 0.9 and the average wear rates of pins were 10^?5 to 10^?7 mm³/N·m, depending on ambient temperature. DLC films reduced the steady-slate friction coefficients of the test pairs by factors of three to five and the wear rates of pins by two to three orders of magnitude. Low friction coefficients were also obtained with the diamond films, but wear rates of the counterface pins were high due to the very abrasive nature of these films. The wear of SiC disks coated with either diamond or DLC films was virtually unmeasurable while the wear of uncoated disks was substantial. Test results showed that the DLC films could afford low friction up to about 300° C. At higher temperatures, the DLC films graphitized and were removed from the surface. The diamond films could withstand much higher tempera-lures, but their tribological behavior degraded. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to elucidate the friction and wear mechanisms of both films at high temperatures.     

An Improved Tribological Polymer-Coating System for Metal Surfaces

Aromatic thermosetting polyester (ATSP)- and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-blended composites have been shown to exhibit improved tribological performance with low wear and low friction. In this article, pure ATSP films were coated on aluminum substrates and tested as a potential protective tribological coating. The tribological performance of this coating was tested against steel, using pure sliding sphere-on-disk experiments. A fluoroadditive powder (solid lubricant) was also added to further enhance the ATSP film wear and friction properties. For comparison, a commercially available PTFE-based coating was tested under the same conditions. Results show that the ATSP/fluoroadditive film has comparable coefficient of friction to the commercial coating, but significantly lower wear. Surface analysis techniques were employed to investigate the low-friction and low-wear mechanisms seen with the ATSP/fluoroadditive. Specifically TOF-SIMS depth-profiling showed that there is a high density of fluorine element within the wear track and penetrates well below the surface of the wear track.     

Effect of Molecular Structure on Friction and Wear of Polymer Thin Films Deposited on Si Surface

In this study, the influence of the molecular structure (linear or with bulky side groups) of polymer films covalently attached to Si surface on tribological properties is investigated. Two polymers, PE (polyethylene) and PS (polystyrene), are selected where PE has simple linear molecular structure whereas PS has linear molecular structure but contains bulky benzene groups located at the sides of the linear chain. PE and PS molecules, both with reactive maleic anhydride groups, are chemisorbed onto Si via an intermediate APTMS SAM (3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane self-assembled monolayer). Water contact angle measurements, AFM (atomic force microscopy), ellipsometry, and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) are used to identify and characterize the polymer films. Tribological properties are studied using a microtribometer where a 4 mm diameter Si₃N₄ ball is used as the counterface. Among the two polymer films investigated, Si/APTMS/PE has shown very low coefficient of friction (0.08) and high wear life (∼4,400 cycles) than those of Si/APTMS/PS. Surprisingly, Si/APTMS/PS did not show any improvement in tribological properties when compared to that of bare Si. The present study proves that the polymer with linear molecular structure without the bulky side groups show good tribological properties even when it is coated as a thin film and hence such polymers can be used as thin-films for reducing friction and wear of substrates such as Si or other materials.     

碳靶电流对磁控溅射GLC/Ti薄膜结构及摩擦学性能的影响*

为改善掺杂Ti的GLC/Ti薄膜的摩擦学性能,采用非平衡磁控溅射技术在不同C靶电流下制备了类石墨碳基薄膜。利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、拉曼光谱仪(Raman)对薄膜结构进行表征;采用纳米压痕仪测量薄膜的硬度及弹性模量;利用HSR-2M型高速往复试验机测试薄膜在干摩擦条件下的摩擦磨损性能,并用白光干涉仪观察磨痕表面形貌。结果表明:随着C靶电流的增大,薄膜的柱状生长趋势日趋明显,其致密性降低,sp~2键含量减小,石墨化程度和结合力降低,而硬度和弹性模量略增;随着C靶电流的增大,摩擦因数和磨损率均增大。因此,适当降低C靶电流可以提高磁控溅射GLC/Ti薄膜干摩擦条件下的减摩耐磨性能。     

类金刚石薄膜水润滑摩擦学特性研究进展

综述类金刚石薄膜水润滑摩擦学特性的研究进展,评述薄膜在水环境中的摩擦磨损特性,分析薄膜种类、元素掺杂、对摩材料以及微结构对DLC薄膜水润滑摩擦学特性的影响,并阐述DLC薄膜在水中的摩擦磨损机制。指出:DLC薄膜水润滑摩擦学特性受薄膜制备参数和摩擦试验环境影响,通过与微结构的耦合可以进一步改善类金刚石薄膜的摩擦学特性。同时还展望了类金刚石薄膜水润滑摩擦学未来研究方向。     

沉积温度对脉冲真空弧源沉积类金刚石薄膜性能的影响

利用脉冲真空弧源沉积技术在Cr17Ni14Cu4不锈钢和Si(100)基体上制备了类金刚石(DLC)薄膜,研究了基体沉积温度对DLC薄膜的性能和结构的影响。研究表明,随着沉积温度由100 ℃提高到400 ℃,DLC薄膜中sp3 键质量分数减少,sp2键质量分数增多,薄膜复合硬度逐渐降低。当DLC薄膜沉积温度达到400 ℃时,薄膜中C原子主要以sp2键形式存在,与沉积温度为100 ℃时制备的DLC薄膜相比,薄膜复合硬度降低50%。DLC薄膜具有优异的耐磨性,摩擦因数低,随着沉积温度由100 ℃提高到400 ℃,Cr17Ni14Cu4不锈钢表面沉积的DLC薄膜耐磨性降低。沉积温度为100 ℃时,Cr17Ni14Cu4不锈钢表面沉积的DLC薄膜后,耐磨性大幅度提高。DLC薄膜与不锈钢基体结合牢固。     

Microstructural and Tribological Behavior of Pulse Electroplated Nickel Barrier on Copper Conductors

The microstructural, mechanical, and tribological behaviors of electroplated Ni on Cu conducting substrates have been investigated in this study. The microstructural studies were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that initially (111) with (220), (200) Ni texture components were predominant in the coating, and increasing the current density from 0.1 to 0.5 A/cm² led to the development of a strong (111) texture. The presence of ultrafine grains coupled with a (111) Ni texture improved the coating microhardness and wear properties significantly. It was shown that with an increase in current density, wear resistance of the coatings improved significantly and the electrical resistivity increased due to the highly populated grain boundaries.     

Hardness effect of stainless steel substrates on tribological properties of water-lubricated DLC films against AISI 440C ball

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on stainless steel substrates with different hardness by thermal electron excited plasma CVD method, and their tribological properties in water-lubricated conditions were investigated. EDS was used to estimate the wear of the films. The results show that the hardness of the substrates has little effect on the friction and, the wear loss of the films is much smaller than that measured by an optical interferometer. The deep wear track is mainly due to the plastic deformation of the substrates and the films but not due to wear. However, the failure of the films is closely related to the hardness of their substrates. The harder the substrate, the higher the failure-resistant capability. The film deposited on a soft substrate is easy to crack and fail due to the low deformation resistance of the substrate and rubbing at a high contact-pressure. On the other hand, the wear of the counter balls increases with the hardness of the substrates.     

PTFE基复合材料海水润滑下的摩擦学性能研究

研究碳纤维/聚四氟乙烯（CF/PTFE）、玻璃纤维/聚四氟乙烯（GF/PTFE）复合材料与氮化硅陶瓷配副在海水环境下的摩擦学性能与润滑机制,分析滑动速度对摩擦副海水润滑性能的影响规律。结果表明：在海水润滑条件下,随着滑动速度的增加,PTFE、CF/PTFE、GF/PTFE材料与Si3N4陶瓷配副时的摩擦学性能均有明显改善,摩擦因数与磨损率均呈显著降低的趋势,其中CF/PTFE复合材料表现出更为优异的摩擦学性能,在1 000 r/min滑动速度下摩擦因数低至0.026。磨损表面表征结果表明,在海水润滑条件下,PTFE基复合材料在摩擦过程中由于摩擦化学反应生成了润滑膜,可为摩擦副提供良好的润滑和减磨作用,从而减少摩擦磨损行为的发生。     

Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polyimide Thin-film for High Wear Durability

In this paper, the influence of single walled carbon nano tubes (SWCNTs) addition on the tribological properties of the polyimide (PI) films on silicon substrate was studied. PI films, with and without SWCNTs, were spin coated onto the Si surface. Coefficient of friction and wear durability were characterized using a ball-on-disk tribometer by employing a 4 mm diameter Si₃N₄ ball sliding against the film, at a contact pressure of ∼370 MPa, and a sliding velocity of 0.042 ms⁻¹. Water contact angle, AFM topography, and nano-indentation tests were conducted to study the physical and mechanical properties of the films. SWCNTs marginally increased the water contact angle of PI film. The addition of SWCNTs to PI has increased the hardness and elastic modulus of pristine PI films by 60–70%. The coefficient of friction of PI films increased slightly (∼20%) after the addition of SWCNTs, whereas, there was at least two-fold increase in the wear life of the film based on the film failure condition of coefficient of friction higher than 0.3. However, the film did not show any sign of wear even after 100,000 cycles of rotation indicating its robustness. This increase in the wear durability due to the addition of the SWCNTs is believed to be because of the improvement in the load-bearing capacity of the composite film and sliding induced microstructural changes of the composite film.     

Friction and Wear Properties of Graphite-Like Carbon Films Deposited on Different Substrates with a Different Interlayer Under High Hertzian Contact Stress

Four types of graphite-like carbon (GLC) films were deposited on different substrates (Ti6Al4V, WC-27CrNi) with a different interlayer (TiC/Ti, TiC/Ti/TiN) using an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The effect of substrate and interlayer on the microstructure and properties of the studied GLC films was then investigated using different characterization techniques. The results show that both the substrate and interlayer had an obvious influence on the tribological properties of the studied GLC films even though there was no significant structural difference between these films. Specifically, a substrate with a high hardness was propitious to achieving superior tribological behaviors for carbon film even with a different interlayer. However, the interlayer had a distinct influence on the tribological properties of the carbon film deposited on different substrates, and this effect varied with the hardness property of the substrate. For a hard substrate, the wear rate and wear life were similar irrespective of the interlayer. For a soft substrate, the addition of a TiN interlayer improved the wear life sevenfold compared to the film with only a TiC/Ti interlayer, but the wear rate for a film with and without a TiN interlayer was approximately the same. The obvious discrepancy between wear life and wear rate for a carbon film deposited on soft substrate was closely related with the film adhesion strength and plastic deformation of the substrate materials. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the wear life is a better parameter than wear rate in terms of characterization of the wear resistance of carbon film once the applied load causes the plastic deformation of the substrate.     

Tribological properties of ultra-thin ionic liquid films on single-crystal silicon wafers with functionalized surfaces

Two kinds of room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) films carrying vinyl and hydroxyl functional groups were prepared on single-crystal Si wafers by spin coating. The tribological properties of the RTIL films sliding against AISI-52100 steel ball and Si₃N₄ ball in a ball-on-plate configuration were investigated on a dynamic–static friction coefficient measurement apparatus, using perfluoropolyether (PFPE) film as a comparison. The tribological behaviors of the ionic liquid films sliding against the same counterparts at extended test durations were also evaluated using a universal UMT-2MT test rig. The morphologies of the wear tracks of the RTIL films and the counterparts were examined using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer attachment. It was found that the tribological performances of the ionic liquid films were closely related to the chemical structures of the RTILs and the chemical characteristics of the substrate surfaces. The films of vinyl group functionalized ionic liquids on hydroxylated substrate and vinyl group modified substrate exhibited very good friction-reduction and wear-resistant properties. It was assumed that there were enough strong forces between the films and substrate in these cases, and the ionic liquid molecules maintained good flexibility simultaneously. The films on hydrogen-terminated and methyl-terminated substrate showed poor tribological performance, which could be related to the relatively weak forces between the films and substrates. Moreover, the films on hydroxylated substrate showed lower friction at higher sliding velocities, which was assumed to be governed by the more rapid adsorption of the ionic liquid molecules on the steel ball at a higher sliding velocity. In addition, the ionic liquid films also had excellent tribological properties as they slid against silicon nitride ball. Therefore, it was supposed that the ionic liquid films could be used as a kind of universal lubricant for various combinations of the frictional pair.     

Ag掺杂对TiO2纳米薄膜结构及摩擦学性能的影响

采用溶胶凝胶法在普通载玻片上制备了TiO2和Ag/TiO2纳米结构薄膜,利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、X光电子能谱(XPS)、原子力显微镜(AFM)及UMT-2摩擦试验机,考察了Ag掺杂量对薄膜组成结构、表面形貌及摩擦学性能的影响。实验结果表明,Ag掺杂量对TiO2薄膜表面形貌和减摩抗磨性能产生重要影响,低掺杂时Ag自润滑性能对薄膜摩擦性能的增强作用占主导,而高掺杂时其对薄膜的影响主要表现为恶化表面,从而导致摩擦性能下降。本研究测试条件下,掺杂量为5.0%(摩尔分数)时具有最佳的耐磨寿命和最低的摩擦因数。     

Tribological and electrical properties of nanocrystalline Cu films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering with varying temperature

Cu films were deposited on Si substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at three different substrate temperatures such as room temperature (RT), 100 °C and 200 °C. Possible mechanisms for substrate temperature dependent microstructure evolution in Cu films are discussed in this paper. Enhanced mechanical properties such as high hardness, high elastic modulus, low friction coefficient and high wear resistance of the films were obtained at deposition temperature of 100 °C. However, high friction coefficient as well as high wear rate was measured in films deposited at room temperature and 200 °C.     

Characterization and tribological investigation of self-assembled lanthanum-based thin films on glass substrates

Rare-earth (RE) (lanthanum-based) thin films were prepared on hydroxylated glass substrates by a self-assembling process from specially formulated solution. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) are used to characterize the thin films. The tribological properties of the as-prepared thin films sliding against a steel ball were evaluated on a friction and wear tester. The tribological experiment shows that the friction coefficient of glass substrate reduced from 0.85 to 0.13 after the formation of RE self-assembled film (SAM) on its surface. And the RE self-assembled film has longer wear life (2880 sliding pass). It is demonstrated that RE self-assembled film exhibited good wear resistant property. The superior friction reduction and wear life of RE films are attributed to good adhesion of the film to the substrate and special characteristic of the RE elements.     

The Effectiveness of the ZDDP Tribofilms in Lubrication of Sol–Gel Titania in Technical Dry Friction Conditions

The objective of this study was the investigation of the tribological properties of the sol–gel derived titania modified by physically deposited zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) films. Titania coatings were prepared on silicon wafers Si(100) using sol–gel dip-coating method. Amorphous, anatase, and rutile titania were obtained in the post-preparation annealing process conducted at 100, 500, and 1000 °C, respectively. Deposition of ZDDP having butyl- (C4) or dodecyl- (C12) alkyl chain was performed by means of dip-coating (DC), self-assembly (SA), and Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) methods. The effectiveness of the modification was monitored by the wetting contact angle measurement. An increase of the surface hydrophobicity was observed upon modification. The surface topography, imaged with the use of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), revealed the presence of island-like agglomerates having different size of ZDDP films deposited using DC and SA method. Smooth and compact C12ZDDP films were observed when LB deposition was applied. The tribological performance of the ZDDP films on titania coatings was tested with the use of microtribometer operating in the normal loads range of 30–100 mN in the technical dry friction conditions. It was found that ZDDP tribofilms effectively decrease the coefficient of friction and effectively reduce the wear of titania coatings.