A series of new diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings has been produced by magnetron sputtering using in-house equipment. The new hydrogen-free pure carbon coatings were deposited by sputtering carbon targets in a pure argon atmosphere. With a metallic interlayer, they have shown improved tribological properties when compared with conventional hydrogenated DLC in pin-on-disc and reciprocating wear tests. The films have also shown the ability to perform in oil, water and dry environments, and to protect the counterpart. The method of ball cratering on wear tracks provided taper sections to allow the analysis of coating wear, interface condition and failure mechanisms. Wear rates as low as 3 × 10−17 m3/N m are shown for 100 N, 10000 cycle reciprocating wear tests in air and in water. Scratch tests have been used to assess coating adhesion with critical loads as high as 70 N. Results from nano-indentation, Raman spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are also reported.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.