Although the tribological performances of various non-hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C) have been investigated for decades, most of previous studies are reported with the experimental point, and the individual mechanism still lacks reasonable coupling of experimental and physical description. In this paper, influence of load on the tribological behaviors of a-C films was systemically investigated based on the correlation of tribological tests and physical calculations. Results shows that coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate of a-C films both decreased with the increase of applied load during wear tests. It is observed that the coverage of easy-shear transfer film on the surface of counterpart almost keeps same for different applied load, indicating that the decreased COF is mainly attributed to the higher graphitization level. Besides, according to the energy dissipation theory, both the decreased COF and increased heat dissipation cause the decrease of the wear rate. Furthermore, with the increased applied load, entropy decreases and keeps well consistent with wear rate. All the analyzed curves based on the physical calculations possess high regression coefficient with the experimental data, which would deepen our understanding of the physical mechanism of a-C films with various contact pressure.

Due to strongly tribological atmosphere sensitivity of carbon-based coatings, it is of extreme significance to investigate their friction and wear behaviors in different atmospheres. In this letter, duplex nc-TiC/a-C(Al) nanocomposite carbon-based coating coupled with high hardness, low internal stress and high adhesion strength was successfully fabricated using magnetron sputtering process. The friction and wear behaviors of as-fabricated coating were evaluated in dry N2, humid N2, air, dry O2, and humid O2 atmospheres, respectively. Results show that the as-fabricated coating possesses very high friction and wear due to the strong covalent bond interactions at the sliding interface caused by the free σ-bonds on the coating surface in dry N2 atmosphere. Whereas the free σ-bonds can be efficiently terminated and passivated by water and/or oxygen molecules to weaken the strong covalent bond interactions to result in low friction and wear of coating in humid N2, air, dry O2, and humid O2 atmospheres. The compact and homogeneous carbonaceous tribo-layer on the counterpart is mainly responsible for the lowest friction and wear of coating in humid N2 atmosphere. Whereas the tribo-layer can be restrained to a certain extent by the tribo-chemical reaction, especially it results in a nearly negligible carbonaceous tribo-layer on the counterpart in dry O2 atmosphere, which is mainly responsible for largely increased friction and wear of coating.

Graphene films with high hydrophobic and adhesive performance were fabricated via two simple steps: chemical exfoliation of natural flake graphite following redox, and film formation by suction filtration without any chemical modification. Irregularly stacked multilayer graphene nanosheets comprised the microstructure, whereas folding and agglomeration of graphene nanoflakes with few layers comprised the nanostructure. The films also showed remarkable surface wettability and reversible transition from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity via periodic alternation of ultraviolet irradiation and air storage. Based on Wenzel's theory and adsorption dynamics, an optimum mechanism is proposed for the surface wettability behavior. On the one hand, the film microstructure and nanostructure enhance the graphene surface hydrophobicity. On the other hand, the capillary force is maximized by the nanostructure such that water fills the grooves of the rough solid surface. This result is a strong interaction between water and the film surface giving highly adhesive property to the films. The highly hydrophobic and adhesive performance of the graphene films could be useful in the device and biomaterials application.

Sulfur doped DLC nanocomposite film was fabricated on n-type silicon substrates by the electrochemical method using the mixture of methanol and thiofuran as the precursor. The synthesis and microstructure of the composite film was investigated. Compared with pure carbon film, sulfur doping effectively enhanced carbon film graphitization, and reduced the surface roughness, confirmed by XPS, Raman and AFM. In particular, XPS analysis revealed sulfur atoms among amorphous carbon matrix was in the form of organosulfur compounds. Furthermore, a novel but feasible growth mechanism was proposed following the synergism of thermochemistry, plasma chemistry and electrochemistry processes.

The low hardness and poor tribological performance of aluminum alloy as moving component greatly restricts their wide applications in automotive fields. In this letter, an attempt to deposit gradient Ti/TiN/Si/(TiC/a-C:H) multi-layer on aluminum alloy is thus effectively performed by a combined arc ion plating and magnetron sputtering process based on the concept of involving coatings with a functionally graded interface. Multi-layered structure within DLC-based coatings has shown to significantly improve the load-bearing capacity, anti-wear and self-lubricating ability of Al alloys. The friction coefficient of gradient DLC-based coatings decreased to 0.18 under dry sliding condition while kept at 0.05 under the oil-lubricated conditions. The wear rate of gradient DLC multilayers was lower by two and even three orders of magnitude when compared with Al alloys both under dry wear and oil-lubricated conditions. Such gradient DLC-based coatings with good adhesion strength, high hardness, and excellent tribological performance are considered as potential protective surfaces of Al alloys for engine parts.

Fe–DLC composite film was deposited by a facile electrochemical process via the electrolysis of analytically methanol and Iron (III) 2, 4-pentanedionate under atmospheric pressure. The relative atomic ratio of Fe/C was around 10%, and nano-crystalline iron particles were homogeneously dispersed into the amorphous cross-linked carbon matrix. After doping iron into DLC films, the sp3-hybridized carbon content in DLC composite films increased, and the carbon composite film exhibits a magnetic field up to 12KOe. Moreover, the deposition of Fe–DLC composite film in liquid-phase electrochemical deposition may be followed by an atmospheric pressure plasma deposition (APPD) process.

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in an alkaline phosphate electrolyte was used to produce a novel multifunctional polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-containing oxide composite coatings on AM60B magnesium alloys. The composition and microstructure of the PTFE-containing PEO coatings were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical corrosion behavior, tribological properties, and wetting properties of the PTFE-containing PEO composite coatings were evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization measurements, a reciprocating ball-on-disk tribometer, and a contact angle meter, respectively. Results show that the PTFE-containing PEO composite coatings exhibited superior corrosion resistance, excellent self-lubricating property, and better hydrophobic property when compared with pure PEO coatings, and will be the attractive advanced materials for a wide range of functional applications.

In this paper, nanocrystalline Co coatings were prepared using pulse reverse electrodeposition method. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of nanocrystalline (NC) Co compared with coarse-grained Co (CG) coatings in different corrosion media were characterized using potentiodynamic polarization test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results showed that in the NaOH or NaCl solutions, the NC Co exhibited improved corrosion resistance when compared with CG Co coatings, which is due to the higher grain boundary density in NC materials to quickly form a stable and protective passive film. In the case of NC Co coatings in HCl or H2SO4 solutions, since no obviously passive process can be observed, high grain boundary density in NC Co will accelerate corrosion by providing high-density of active sites for preferential attack. The controversial experimental results on NC Co coatings in different corrosion media can be reasonably explained by the positive or negative effect of high-density network of grain boundaries in NC materials.

Graphene films with high hydrophobic and adhesive performance were fabricated via two simple steps: chemical exfoliation of natural flake graphite following redox, and film formation by suction filtration without any chemical modification. Irregularly stacked multilayer graphene nanosheets comprised the microstructure, whereas folding and agglomeration of graphene nanoflakes with few layers comprised the nanostructure. The films also showed remarkable surface wettability and reversible transition from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity via periodic alternation of ultraviolet irradiation and air storage. Based on Wenzel's theory and adsorption dynamics, an optimum mechanism is proposed for the surface wettability behavior. On the one hand, the film microstructure and nanostructure enhance the graphene surface hydrophobicity. On the other hand, the capillary force is maximized by the nanostructure such that water fills the grooves of the rough solid surface. This result is a strong interaction between water and the film surface giving highly adhesive property to the films. The highly hydrophobic and adhesive performance of the graphene films could be useful in the device and biomaterials application.