Tribological Properties of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Nanowire Thin Film: Influence of Sliding Ball Counterbodies

TL;DR

This study investigates the tribological behavior of ultrananocrystalline diamond nanowire thin films against various ball counterbodies, revealing material-dependent friction and wear properties with potential applications in wear-resistant coatings.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how different counterbody materials influence the friction and wear characteristics of UNCD NW thin films.

Findings

Low and stable friction with Al2O3 counterbodies.

High wear resistance observed with SiC and steel.

Negligible wear on Al2O3 ball counterbodies.

Abstract

Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Nanowire (UNCD NW) thin film was deposited on mirror polished silicon substrate (100) using Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPECVD) System with optimized deposition parameters in CH4 (6%)/N2 plasma media. The film exhibited wire like morphology with randomly oriented and homogeneously distributed ultranano diamond grains separated by an interphase boundary of graphitic and amorphous carbon (a-C) phases. Micro-tribological studies of film were carried out against Al2O3, SiC and steel balls in ambient atmospheric conditions. Initially, the friction coefficient was found to be high for UNCD NW/SiC and UNCD NW/Steel sliding pairs which gradually decreased to low value. While, in UNCD NW/Al2O3 sliding combination, the ultralow value of friction coefficient was maintained throughout the whole sliding process. High wear resistant properties of the film were observed in UNCD NW/SiC and UNCD NW/Steel pairs. In UNCD NW/Al2O3 case, ball counterbody showed negligible wear dimension. Such kind of tribological behavior was attributed to the different type of mechanical and chemical interactions of ball counterbodies with UNCD NW thin film.