SELF-LUBRICATING PROPERTIES OF THIN COATINGS BASED ON MOLYBDENUM DISULPHIDE

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the friction and wear processes of a composite coating based on molybdenum disulphide doped by tungsten and titanium, taking into account the impact of load and temperature in the contact zone. The tribological tests were performed at room temperature and at 300°C and 350°C in non-lubricated sliding contact with an Al2O3 ball. The characterization of the micromechanical properties and the adhesion of coatings to steel substrates were done by scratch testing. The analysis of the coatings wear and the sliding tribolayer formation was conducted by the observation of the friction track using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The low hardness of the MoS2(Ti,W) coating, equal to 6 GPa, with the predominantly amorphous structure, allows for quick formation of the tribological contact and the sliding tribolayer creation. Due to self-lubricating properties, the coating has a high wear resistance and a low friction coefficient (below 0.1), both at room and elevated temperatures. The study allowed the determination of the operating temperature limit of the coating-substrate system in sliding point contact, which helped to specify the application area of such material.