Effect of sputtering pressure on the surface topography, structure, wettability and tribological performance of DLC films coated on rubber by magnetron sputtering

Liu, Jiaqi; Li, L.J.; Wei, Bo; Wen, Feng; Cao, Huatang; Pei, Yu

doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2018.05.012

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have garnered considerable interest as materials for lubrication and protection, due to the combination of relatively high hardness, ultralow friction, and excellent wear resistance [7][8][9]. Beyond that, DLC films not only possess promising chemical compatibility with the rubber (to prevent the degradation of rubber components) but the deposition temperature can be adjusted to be lower than the upper temperature limit of the rubber (by the choice of the deposition method and controlling process variables) [10][11][12][13]. Therefore, DLC films prepared on the rubber surface is undoubtedly a viable option.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adhesion and friction performance of DLC/rubber: The influence of plasma pretreatment

Chun

Gong

et al. 2021

Friction

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Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are deposited on rubber surfaces to protect the rubber components, and surface pretreatment of the rubber substrates prior to the film deposition can improve the adhesion between the DLC films and the rubber. Thus, the principal purpose of this work concentrates on determining the effects of argon (Ar), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), and hydrogen (H2) plasma pretreatments on the adhesion and friction performance of the DLC films deposited on rubber (DLC/rubber). The results indicated that the Ar plasma pretreatment promoted the formation of a compact layer on the rubber surface. By contrast, massive fillers were exposed on the rubber surface after oxygen or nitrogen plasma pretreatments. Moreover, the typical micrometer-scale patches divided by random cracks were observed on the surface of DLC/rubber, except for the sample pretreated with oxygen plasma. The adhesion of DLC/rubber was found to strengthen with the removal of weak boundary layers and the generation of free radicals on the rubber surface after plasma pretreatment. The tribo-tests revealed that DLC/rubber with O2, N2, and H2 plasma pretreatments cannot achieve optimal friction performance. Significantly, DLC/rubber with Ar plasma pretreatment exhibited a low and stable friction coefficient of 0.19 and superior wear resistance, which was correlated to the high adhesion, good load-bearing of the rubber surface, and the approximate sine function of the surface profile of the DLC film.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adhesion and friction performance of DLC/rubber: The influence of plasma pretreatment

Chun

Gong

et al. 2021

Friction

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“…3(b), it can be found that DLC film is conducive to reduce surface energy of NBR, and the DLC film prepared with the increasingly hydrogenated CH 4 gas discharge plasma possesses lower surface energy. As reported by Wen's group, lower surface energy is conducive to the aggregation of carbon atoms and the formation of films, thereby promoting the drop of film roughness [35]. Furthermore, previous studies indicated that the sp 3 rich phase surfaces of DLC films exhibited lower CA than sp 2 rich phase surfaces [41].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…There is a significant difference between virgin and DLC-coated NBR that all deposited DLC films exhibit a "cauliflowerlike" morphology and have higher surface roughness than that of virgin NBR substrate. It is well known that the depression on NBR surface is a predominant position where activated carbon particles gather [35]. In this work, the virgin NBR rubber is smooth and the exposed depressions are evenly distributed and discrete.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Eventually, the surface morphology of DLC films in the form of "hills" tends to have higher roughness compared to virgin NBR. Noteworthy, Liu et al [35,36] reported that the fabrication of the DLC film is beneficial to lower the surface roughness of NBR. Our results are contrary to previous study, which may be related to the thickness of films, the distribution and size of the depressions on rubber, and the effect of Ar plasma pretreatment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimizing the tribological performance of DLC-coated NBR rubber: The role of hydrogen in films

Chun

Zhang

et al. 2021

Friction

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Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films directly deposited on rubber substrate is undoubtedly one optimal option to improve the tribological properties due to its ultralow friction, high-hardness as well as good chemical compatibility with rubber. Investigating the relationship between film structure and tribological performance is vital for protecting rubber. In this study it was demonstrated that the etching effect induced by hydrogen incorporation played positive roles in reducing surface roughness of DLC films. In addition, the water contact angle (CA) of DLC-coated nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) was sensitive to the surface energy and sp2 carbon clustering of DLC films. Most importantly, the optimum tribological performance was obtained at the 29 at% H-containing DLC film coated on NBR, which mainly depended on the following key factors: (1) the DLC film with appropriate roughness matched the counterpart surface; (2) the contact area and surface energy controlled interface adhesive force; (3) the microstructure of DLC films impacted load-bearing capacity; and (4) the generation of graphitic phase acted as a solid lubricant. This understanding may draw inspiration for the fabrication of DLC films on rubber to achieve low friction coefficient.

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“…However, there are some shortcomings such as high intrinsic stress, poor adhesion strength between the film and substrate, and unstable tribological properties, which limit their further development [9][10][11][12][13]. Most of the previous studies in recent years investigated the effect of deposition temperature [14], sputtering power [15,16], deposition pressure [16], and substrate material [17] on the tribological behavior of hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon coating. Few studies [2,18] have been found on the relationship between film thickness and tribological properties of DLC coatings, and the tribological properties of ultra-thick (more than 1 µm) DLC coating deposited by HiPIMS technique remain unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Thickness on Tribological Behavior of Hydrogen Free Diamond-like Carbon Coating

2020

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The effects of film thickness on the tribological behavior have been investigated for hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon coating in this paper. The film was deposited on cemented carbide substrate (YG10C) by applying a high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technique. The reciprocating ball on the disc test was conducted on the film with different thicknesses from 0.66~1.26 μm against the ZrO2 ball. The friction coefficient and wear resistance of the coating with different thickness showed a unimodal change. Numerous defects were observed on the surface of the film with a thickness of 0.66 μm and the wear mechanism was mainly plow-grinding. Therefore, the steady-state friction coefficient reached the maximum value of 0.22. The coating with a thickness of 1.01 μm had a higher sp3 content and a smoother, dense surface. A graphite transfer layer with low shear strength was detected on the ZrO2 ball against the film with a thickness of 1.01 μm, which led to the reduction in friction, thus the steady-state friction coefficient reached the minimum value of 0.10. However, the internal stress of the film increased with increasing thickness due to the distortion of the bond angle of internal structure when the film was bombarded by high-energy particles. The peeling coating was observed under reciprocating sliding, which both played the role of plowing and boundary lubrication film. The steady-state friction coefficient was 0.14 with a coating thickness of 1.26 μm. As a result, the hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon coating with optimized thickness shows a smooth and compact surface, low internal stress, high sp3 content, and better tribological properties.

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Effect of sputtering pressure on the surface topography, structure, wettability and tribological performance of DLC films coated on rubber by magnetron sputtering

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Cited by 36 publications

References 40 publications

Adhesion and friction performance of DLC/rubber: The influence of plasma pretreatment

Adhesion and friction performance of DLC/rubber: The influence of plasma pretreatment

Optimizing the tribological performance of DLC-coated NBR rubber: The role of hydrogen in films

Effect of Thickness on Tribological Behavior of Hydrogen Free Diamond-like Carbon Coating

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