Formation of interfacial molybdenum carbide for DLC lubricated by MoDTC: Origin of wear mechanism

In this work, the friction and wear performances of an amorphous hydrogenated DLC coating doped with silicon and oxygen have been analysed when lubricated by MoDTC-containing oils. Tribological experiments have been conducted with DLC/steel and DLC/DLC contacts under boundary lubrication conditions using a ball-on-flat tribometer. To understand the wear mechanism, the chemical composition of the tribofilm formed on the steel ball counterpart was investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). A new DLC wear model has been proposed and validated.