• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.163-164
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• 2002

This paper describes a new carbon film that afford superlubricity (i.e, friction coefficients of 0.001- 0.005) and superlow wear rates (i.e., $10^{-11}-10^{-10}mm^3/N.m$) to sliding metallic and ceramic surfaces, when tested in inert test environments. The wear life of these films are more than 1000 km even under very high contact pressures (i.e., 1-3 GPa) and at a wide range of sliding velocities (i.e., 0.1 to 2 m/s). They are produced in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system at room temperature using highly hydrogenated gas discharge plasmas. Extensive research has shown that films grown in highly hydrogenated gas discharge plasmas (i.e., hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of 6 and above) provide superlow friction and wear coefficients. In full paper, specific conditions under which superlubricity can be achieved in carbon films will be discussed.and a mechanistic model will be proposed to explain the superlubricity of new carbon films.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.235-240
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• 2018

Superlubricity refers to the lubrication phenomenon that occurs when the friction coefficient is lower than 0.01. In recent years, this phenomenon has received a significant amount of attention because it can greatly contribute to the reduction of economic and environmental losses caused by friction and wear. In the case of acid lubricants, only ceramic materials can be used for superlubricity, and it takes a long running-in period to enter the superlubricity regime. In this work, we investigated the superlubricity effect of vitreous enamel coating on SUS304. We also examined the running-in period of vitreous enamel coating under phosphoric acid lubricant condition with respect to surface treatments. Drying and polishing methods were used to treat the vitreous enamel coating on the specimen. The friction experimental results revealed that superlubricity could be achieved with vitreous enamel coating. It was also found that the drying and polishing methods can significantly reduce the running-in period and improve the wear properties of vitreous enamel coating. In particular, the polishing method shortened the running-in period by approximately 99% and reduced the wear rate by approximately 99%, compared to nontreated vitreous enamel coating.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.151-163
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• 2021

Since the discovery of single-layer graphene, exploiting graphene's excellent physical/chemical properties in tribology systems has been a topic of interest in academia over the last few decades. There is no doubt that understanding the underlying friction mechanism of graphite should precede this. Even now, new properties of graphene are being reported in academia, and based on this, studies exploring the origins of graphene's surface properties and friction characteristics in a wide range of scales are also being performed. From the perspective of lubrication engineering, graphene research can be largely divided into studies that 1) reveal its basic friction mechanism at the nanoscale and 2) explore its application in macroscale sliding systems. At the nanoscale, the basic friction mechanism of graphene is mainly due to its atomic thickness. In this paper, the various research on the nanoscale friction and surface characteristics of graphene is reviewed. Graphene surface properties, such as wettability and surface energy and the basic friction mechanisms of graphene attributed to adhesion, electronphonon scattering, bending stiffness, and the underlying substrate, are summarized. Further, we provide the research outcomes on the superlubricity of graphene. Finally, the potential application and challenges of the superlubricity of graphene are highlighted. Through this, we intend to provide summarized information to researchers interested in the tribological properties of graphene and help set the direction of future research.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2007

Despite numerous researches on atomic-scale friction have been carried out for understanding the origin of friction, lots of questions about sliding friction still remain. It is known that friction at atomic-scale always shows unique phenomena called 'stick-slips' which reflect atomic lattice of a scanned surface. In this work, experimental study on the effects of system stiffnesses and load on the atomic-scale stick-slip friction of graphite was performed by using an Atomic Force Microscope and various cantilevers/tips. The objective of this research is to figure out the dependency of atomic-scale friction on the nanomechanical properties in sliding contact such as load, stiffness and contact materials systematically. From this work, the experimental observation of transitions in atomic-scale friction from smooth sliding to multiple stick-slips in air was first made, according to the lateral cantilever stiffness and applied normal load. The superlubricity of graphite could be verified from friction vs. load experiments. Based on the results, the relationship between the stickslip behaviors and contact stiffness was carefully discussed in this work. The results or this work indicate that the atomic-scale stick-slip behaviors can be controlled by adjusting the system stiffnesses and contact materials.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.55-63
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• 2020

Recently, graphene has attracted considerable attention owing to its unique electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The broad spectrum of applications from optics, sensors, and electronics to biodevice have been proposed based on these properties. In particular, graphene has been proposed as a protective coating layer and solid lubricant for microdevices and nanodevices because of its high mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and low friction characteristics. During the past decade, extensive efforts have been made to explore the tribological characteristics of graphene under various conditions and to expand its applicability. In addition to the experimental approaches, the molecular simulations performed provide fundamental insights into the friction and wear characteristics of graphene resulting from molecular interactions. This work is a review of the studies conducted over the past decade on the tribological characteristics of graphene using molecular simulation. These studies demonstrate the principal mechanisms of the superlubricity of graphene and help clarify the influences of surface conditions on tribological behavior. In particular, the investigation of the effects of the number of layers, strength of adhesion to the substrate, surface roughness, and commensurability provides deeper insights into the tribological characteristics of graphene. These fundamental understandings can help elucidate the feasibility of graphene as a protective coating layer and solid lubricant for microdevices and nanodevices.