Tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coating doped with tungsten

Abstract

This paper presents the tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coatings (DLC) doped with tungsten. The hardness of the DLC coating was determined using a micro-hardness tester. Friction tests were carried out on a tribometer in rotational motion in a 100Cr6 steel ball-disk association with a-C-H:W tungsten doped hydrogenated DLC coating. Tests were carried out with loads of 10 N, 25 N and 50 N under technically dry friction conditions. Using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the surface morphology was observed, and with a confocal microscope, the geometric structure of the surface was observed before and after the friction tests. The wetting angle of the samples was examined on an optical tensiometer for distilled water and diiodomethane. The results indicated that DLC coatings of the a-C:H:W type obtained by the PVD technique can be used in unlubricated high-load tribological systems.

Keywords

• 100Cr6 steel
• a-C-H:W
• hardness
• tribological properties
• SEM