Abstract
Pure WS2 films were prepared by the radio frequency sputtering of a WS2 target with the initial substrate temperature controlled to −40, −25, 0 °C and room temperature by cooling the holder with liquid nitrogen, respectively. The influence of the substrate temperature on the microstructures and the tribological properties of the prepared films have been evaluated and the wear mechanism of the films was explained. It revealed that with decreasing the substrate temperature, the prepared WS2 film changed from the loose and coarse columnar plate structure for film deposited at room temperature to a much more compact morphology for film deposited at −40 °C. The WS2 film deposited at low temperature of −40 or −25 °C exhibited a long wear life higher than 5.0 × 105 sliding cycles, while this was about 1.5 × 105 cycles for the WS2 deposited at room temperature. The improved tribological properties for the low temperature-deposited film were mainly attributed to the much lower wear rate resulted from the compact structure as well as the sustained and steadily formed transform layer on the counterpart ball.
Highlights
Sputtered transitional metal dichalcogenide (TMD) coatings, such as MoS2 and WS2, have been extensively investigated and applied as a super low friction lubricating materials for aerospace applications due to their excellent lubrication behavior especially under high vacuum conditions [1,2,3,4,5].It has been investigated that the microstructure and the chemical composition of the depositedTMD films have a crucial effect on the friction coefficient and the wear life
Pure WS2 films were prepared by radio frequency sputtering technology by controlling the initial substrate temperature from room temperature to −40 ◦ C
This showed that the initial substrate temperatures have a great influence on the microstructure and tribological property of the prepared films
Summary
Sputtered transitional metal dichalcogenide (TMD) coatings, such as MoS2 and WS2 , have been extensively investigated and applied as a super low friction lubricating materials for aerospace applications due to their excellent lubrication behavior especially under high vacuum conditions [1,2,3,4,5].It has been investigated that the microstructure and the chemical composition of the depositedTMD films have a crucial effect on the friction coefficient and the wear life. Sputtered transitional metal dichalcogenide (TMD) coatings, such as MoS2 and WS2 , have been extensively investigated and applied as a super low friction lubricating materials for aerospace applications due to their excellent lubrication behavior especially under high vacuum conditions [1,2,3,4,5]. The pure TMD films deposited at room temperature or a higher temperature exhibited a growth of the columnar plate structure. The coarse columnar plates constituted TMD films failed early during the friction and showed a very limited lifetime [9,10,11]. The poor wear resistance and short wear life of pure MoS2 or WS2 coatings limited their service in present and future long-life aerospace applications
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