4.7 Article

Influence of structural evolution on sliding interface for enhancing tribological performance of onion-like carbon films via thermal annealing

Journal

APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
Volume 541, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.148441

Keywords

Onion-like carbon; Heat treatment; Structural evolution; Tribolayer; Wear resistance

Funding

  1. National Natural Science Foundation of China [51727901, 51975314, 51527901]
  2. ANID-Chile [Fondecyt 11180121]
  3. VID of the University of Chile [U-Inicia UI 013/2018]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The study found that annealing OLC-coated samples at 600 degrees Celsius in vacuum can significantly improve wear resistance and promote lubrication characteristics. Microstructural reinforcement and adhering structures play a key role in improving lubrication effects.
The onion-like carbon (OLC) possesses a micro-spherical structure with a diameter of approximately 7 nm consisting of 0.35 nm-spaced carbon layers, and the OLC film is capable of providing excellent solid lubrication performances because of the high content of sp(2)-bonded carbon phase. However, the unfavorable durability severely restricts the lubrication application in practice. For the purpose of addressing this issue, heat treatment is employed to improve the lubrication robustness of the loose OLC film. The wear resistance was significantly improved with a duration of 60,000 sliding cycles at least when the OLC-coated samples were annealed at 600 degrees C in vacuum. Furthermore, the systematic analyses, particularly providing deep insights into the microstructural characterization, indicate that the structural reinforcement of OLC and the net-like adhering structures formed on the steel substrates annealed at specific temperature can effectively promote lubrication characteristics in two different stages. We propose that annealing treatment can improve the stability of micro-spherical OLC structures, thereby increasing the duration of lubrication. The evolution mechanism of OLC structures at the sliding interface is the key factor for maintaining the lubrication duration in dry contact.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available