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Structure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of MoS2/a-C:H Composite Films

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Abstract

A series of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films doped with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) were deposited by medium frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering with mixed Ar/CH4 gases of different volume ratios as the source gases. The effects of Ar/CH4 ratio on morphology, microstructure, mechanical, and tribological properties of the MoS2/a-C:H composite films were investigated. Results show that the content of MoS2 in the as-deposited films decreases with the decreasing Ar/CH4 ratio, and the highest Ar/CH4 ratio favors the formation of nanostructured films. Besides, the hardness and internal stress of the composite films first decrease and then increase with decreasing Ar/CH4 ratio. Furthermore, the film deposited at the highest Ar/CH4 ratio exhibits excellent antiwear ability in all test environments and shows promising potential as a solid lubricating film in aviation and space industries.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51275509 and 51175491), the 973 Project of China (No. 2013CB632300), and the Chinese Academy of Science for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yanxia Wu, Hongxuan Li, Li Ji, Yinping Ye, Jianmin Chen & Huidi Zhou

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yanxia Wu

  3. College of Life-Science and Chemistry, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui, 741001, China

    Liu Liu

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  1. Yanxia Wu
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  2. Hongxuan Li
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  3. Li Ji
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  4. Liu Liu
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  5. Yinping Ye
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Correspondence to Hongxuan Li or Jianmin Chen.

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Wu, Y., Li, H., Ji, L. et al. Structure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of MoS2/a-C:H Composite Films. Tribol Lett 52, 371–380 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0216-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0216-9

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