Tribological Performances of Graphite-Like Carbon Films Coupled to Different Ceramics in Ambient Air and Water

Abstract

The tribological performance of graphite-like carbon (GLC) films coupled with different ceramics including Si₃N₄, SiC, WC, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, and SiO₂ were comparatively studied in ambient air and water. The results showed that the GLC films could exhibit low friction and wear with small differences when sliding against engineering ceramics in both environments. Water played a different role in the tribological performance of GLC films, which was closely related to the nature and wear behavior of the coupled ceramics. Accordingly, three conditions of friction coefficient (FC) and wear rate (WR) of GLC films sliding against different ceramics in water compared to those in ambient air were found: similar FC with lower WR, lower FC with lower WR, and lower FC with higher WR. The SiO₂ counterpart resulted in high friction and wear of GLC film in ambient air, but it only slightly affected the tribological performance of GLC film in water. The GLC film coupled to Si₃N₄ ceramic exhibited optimum tribological performance in both ambient air and water.

KEY WORDS:

• Graphite-Like Carbon
• Engineering Ceramic
• Tribological Performance
• Ambient Air
• Water

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51202261) and the Ningbo Municipal Nature Science Foundation (Grant No. 2012A610105). The authors acknowledge Zhi Lin of University of Science & Technology Beijing for measurement of the nanoindentations discussed in this article.

Review led by Gary Doll