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

ABSTRACT: 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

SUBMITTER: Kuwahara T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10876050 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature