Journal Article

Solid lubricants: a review

Prasad, S. V., Scharf, T. W.

2013

Overview

The fundamental mechanisms of solid lubrication are reviewed with examples from well-known solid lubricants like the transition metal dichalcogenides and diamond-like carbon families of coatings. Solid lubricants are applied either as surface coatings or as fillers in self-lubricating composites. Tribological (friction and wear) contacts with solid lubricant coatings typically result in transfer of a thin layer of material from the surface of the coating to the counterface, commonly known as a transfer film or tribofilm. The wear surfaces can exhibit different chemistry, microstructure, and crystallographic texture from those of the bulk coating due to surface chemical reactions with the surrounding environment. As a result, solid lubricant coatings that give extremely low friction and long wear life in one environment can fail to do so in a different environment. Most solid lubricants exhibit non-Amontonian friction behavior with friction coefficients decreasing with increasing contact stress. The main mechanism responsible for low friction is typically governed by interfacial sliding between the worn coating and the transfer film. Strategies are discussed for the design of novel coating architectures to adapt to varying environments.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: carbon / Characterization and Evaluation of Materials / Chemical reactions / Chemistry and Materials Science / Classical Mechanics / Coatings / Coatings industry / Coefficient of friction / Contact stresses / Crystallography / Crystallography and Scattering Methods / Diamond-like carbon films / Environmental extremism / Friction / lubricants / Lubricants & lubrication / Lubricants industry / lubrication / Lubrication and lubricants / Materials Science / microstructure / Polymer Sciences / Review / Self lubrication / Solid lubricants / Solid Mechanics / Surface layer / Texture / Transition metal compounds / Tribology / Wear