Parallel electricity at friction interface induced fast superlow friction of amorphous carbon films

Abstract

In the electro-mechanical system, effectively use the current carrying condition to generate low friction is very meaningful. Here, we reported the fast superlow friction of amorphous carbon films by applying parallel electricity at the friction interface. The effects of electric transport direction, electric power and electric current were studied. With parallel electricity to the sliding direction and proper electric power, the friction coefficient was decreased from 0.116 to 0.014, the run-in cycles were shortened from about 250 to 60 cycles. Based on the characterizations of the friction interface under various electrical friction conditions, the mechanism for fast superlow friction was attributed to the electrons with enough energy for structural transformation and the shear stress parallel to the electron transport direction for large-sized graphene sheets interface formation. This work shed light on the application of amorphous carbon films in the protection of electrical contact surfaces.