Superlubricity of Silicon-Based Ceramics Sliding against Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon in Ultrahigh Vacuum: Mechanisms of Transfer Film Formation

Tribological interfaces between silicon-based ceramics, such as Si3N4 or SiC, are characterized by high friction and wear in unlubricated conditions. A solution to this problem is to use them in combination with a hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) countersurface from which a passivating carbon film is transferred onto the ceramic surface. However, the mechanisms underlying a stable film transfer process and the conditions that favor it remain elusive. Here, we present friction experiments in ultrahigh vacuum in which friction coefficients lower than 0.01 are achieved by sliding Si3N4 against a-C:H with 36 at. % hydrogen but not against a-C:H with 20 at. % hydrogen. Chemical surface analyses confirm that the superlubric interface forms via the transfer of a hydrocarbon nanofilm onto the Si3N4 surface. Quantum-mechanical simulations reveal that a stable passivating a-C:H film can only be transferred if, after initial cold welding of the tribological interface, the plastic shear deformation is localized within the a-C:H coating. This occurs if the yield shear stress for plastic flow of a-C:H is lower than that of the ceramic and of the shear strength of the a-C:H-ceramic interface, i.e., if the a-C:H hydrogen content ranges between ∼30 and ∼50 at. %. While the importance of a relatively high hydrogen content to achieve an efficient passivation of a-C:H surfaces in a vacuum is well-documented, this work reveals how the hydrogen content is also crucial for obtaining a stable a-C:H transfer film. These results can be extended to glass, SiC, and steel, supporting the generality of the proposed mechanism.

Role of OH Termination in Mitigating Friction of Diamond-like Carbon under High Load: A Joint Simulation and Experimental Study

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) has recently attracted much attention as a promising solid-state lubricant because it exhibits low friction, low abrasion, and high wear resistance. Although we previously reported the reason why H-terminated DLC exhibits low friction based on a tight-binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics (TB-QCMD) simulation, experimentally, the low-friction state of H-terminated DLC is not stable, limiting its application. In the present work, our TB-QCMD simulations suggest that H/OH-terminated DLC could give low friction even under high loads, whereas H-terminated DLC could not. By using gas-phase friction experiments, we confirm that OH termination can indeed provide much more stable lubricity than H termination, validating the predictions from simulations. We conclude that H/OH-terminated DLC is a new low-friction material with high load capacity and high stable lubricity that may be suitable for practical use in industrial applications.

Triboemission of hydrocarbon molecules from diamond-like carbon friction interface induces atomic-scale wear

Understanding atomic-scale wear is crucial to avoid device failure. Atomic-scale wear differs from macroscale wear because chemical reactions and interactions at the friction interface are dominant in atomic-scale tribological behaviors, instead of macroscale properties, such as material strength and hardness. It is particularly challenging to reveal interfacial reactions and atomic-scale wear mechanisms. Here, our operando friction experiments with hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) in vacuum demonstrate the triboemission of various hydrocarbon molecules from the DLC friction interface, indicating its atomic-scale chemical wear. Furthermore, our reactive molecular dynamics simulations reveal that this triboemission of hydrocarbon molecules induces the atomic-scale mechanical wear of DLC. As the hydrogen concentration in hydrogenated DLC increases, the chemical wear increases while mechanical wear decreases, indicating an opposite effect of hydrogen concentration on chemical and mechanical wear. Consequently, the total wear shows a concave hydrogen concentration dependence, with an optimal hydrogen concentration for wear reduction of around 20%.

Superlubricity of glycerol by self-sustained chemical polishing

An impressive superlow coefficient of friction (CoF) as low as 0.004 (nearly equivalent to the rolling coefficient) was obtained by sliding a steel ball against a tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C) coating in glycerol under a boundary lubrication regime. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed substantial changes in the surface chemistry and topography in the friction track. As shown by XPS analysis, a transfer of iron atoms from the steel ball to the ta-C layer occurred, forming iron oxy-hydroxide (FeOOH) termination on both surfaces. Between them, theoretical calculations show that a nanometre-thick fluid film consisting of glycerol and its degradation products prevents direct contact between the solid surfaces by nm-thick film EHL lubrication and results in the superlow friction, in agreement with the experiment. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that hydrogen atoms act as "low-friction brushes" between sliding layers of crystalline FeOOH, resulting also in low friction. A new model of sustainable green superlubricity is proposed. The tribo-formation of FeOOH with glycerol leads to a unique polishing process, which in turn leads to a self-sustained Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) regime until the very thin fluid film is no more than a few nanometres thick. At lower thicknesses, the hydroxide layer takes over. Wear of the ta-C coating is negligible, while wear on the steel ball is very moderate and acceptable for many practical applications, such as bio-tribology and the food industry, in which green lubrication is especially needed.