STRUCTURE AND TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF PLASMA-POLYMERIZED NICKEL CARBONYL FILMS

From plasma polymerization of nickel carbonyl with or without methane, metallic nickel powder, metal-like nickel film, nickel-containing DLC film and nickel-containing hydrocarbon polymer film were prepared. Th e results for metal-like nickel and nickel-containing DLC films deposi ted on monocrystalline silicon friction blocks suggest that the tribol ogical properties of the films are related to the film composition, st ructure and friction conditions. High nickel content DLC film displays a stable friction coefficient of 0.12 with a small pulse of 0.01. In the ball-on-disc wear test, the wear resistance of the film and the co upler steel ball increased by factors of 74.6 and 316.7, respectively. The improvement in tribological behavior results from the insertion o f nickel into the film, which reduces the intrinsic brittleness and in ternal stress of DLC firm, and plays the role of composite lubrication with DLC. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.