Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Film: Tribological Studies Against Metal and Ceramic Balls

TL;DR

This study investigates the tribological performance of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films against metal and ceramic balls, revealing different friction behaviors influenced by material interactions and surface chemistry.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the friction and wear mechanisms of UNCD films against various counterbodies, highlighting the effects of oxidation, adhesion, and inertness.

Findings

UNCD/steel shows decreasing friction due to oxidation.

UNCD/SiC exhibits high friction from adhesive forces.

UNCD/Al2O3 maintains low, stable friction due to inertness.

Abstract

In this present work, friction and wear behavior of UNCD thin film has been studied against three different sliding counterbodies i.e. Al2O3, SiC and steel balls. UNCD/steel sliding pair showed high friction coefficient in the beginning of the sliding process which decreased to the lower value after longer sliding passes. This behavior might be explained by oxidation mechanism. However, high friction value was observed in the case of UNCD/SiC and this was attributed to strong adhesive force acting across the sliding interfaces. Stable and low friction value was measured in UNCD/Al2O3 sliding combination. This was governed by chemically inert interfaces and graphite tribolayer formation.