Comparison of Tribological Performances of Nano- and Micro-Textured Surfaces

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison study on the tribological performances, including adhesion and friction, of nano-and micro-textured surfaces (MTSs). The textured surfaces were produced by spin coating colloidal silica nanoparticle solution on smooth silicon substrates. Adhesion and friction studies were conducted using a TriboIndenter employing a diamond tip with a 100μ nominal radius of curvature. It was found that both types of textured surface significantly reduced the adhesion forces and the coefficients of friction (COFs) compared with baseline smooth surfaces, with up to 98 per cent reduction in adhesion force and 88 per cent reduction in COF demonstrated for the nano-textured surface (NTS). Furthermore, the adhesion forces and the COFs of the NTS are much smaller than those of the MTSs owing to the much smaller radii of curvature of the nano-textures.