PFPE Lubricant Molecular Weight Effects on Slider-Disk Interactions

Abstract

Slider wear is investigated as a function of D-4OH lubricant film thickness and molecular weight. Slider wear increases with decreasing lubricant film thickness and with increasing molecular weight when compared at the same film thickness in the submonolayer film thickness regime. The two sets of observations are readily interpreted on the basis of the monolayer fraction which corrects the film thickness for the molecular weight-dependent surface coverage.

Keywords

• perfluoropolyether
• slider wear
• hard disk drives
• boundary lubricant