Wear acceleration of a-C:H coatings by molybdenum-derived particles: Mixing and temperature effects

MoDTC has also been reported to degrade into other Mo-derived compounds. It is essential to analyze the effects of each type of MoDTC-degraded material on DLC. Therefore, we chose powder-type MoDTC, MoS2, Mo, MoO3, and Mo2C additives to be dispersed individually into a base oil and tested on an a-C:H sliding against a steel ball under boundary lubrication conditions at 80 ?C. We then obtained surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), which proved that MoS2 has the possibility of extracting hydrogen from the topmost surface as chemical wear (hydrogen content decreased from 30 to 35 at.% to 20 at.% of as-deposited) and that MoO3, MoDTC, and Mo have the possibility of catalytic reactions with carbon atoms. Mo2C exhibited abrasive accelerate of the a-C:H wear.

Automated summary

The study analyzed the effects of MoDTC, MoS2, Mo, MoO3, and Mo2C on the surface lubrication performance of a-C:H through experiments, revealing that these compounds could lead to chemical wear, catalytic reactions, or abrasive acceleration under different conditions.