Tribological properties of amorphous carbon films obtained by electrodeposition from DMF using 2HEAL protic ionic liquid as dopant

- Carbon films obtained by electrodeposition using ionic liquid doped electrolyte
- Increasing in deposition rate
- Mechanical properties and wear resistance

Amorphous carbon films are widely used for improving the surface mechanical properties of metallic materials, substantially increasing the wear resistance [1,2]. Traditionally this type of film is obtained by vapor phase methods, which, in spite of being in a high technical and scientific development level have been associated with a number of limitations, in particular with regards to the implementation cost and large film production. In this context, electrodeposition shows itself as an alternative to traditional methods: it has low cost and limits the use of complex techniques, which generally require high temperatures and vacuum and cannot be applied for coating on substrate with complex shapes and large dimensions. It is true that the electrodeposition of carbon films also has experimental limitations, such as the limited deposition rate and, therefore, the aim of this work is to investigate the influence of the ionic liquid 2 HydroxyEthylAmine Lactate (2HEAL) in obtaining amorphous carbon films. An improvement in deposition rate by increasing electrolyte conductivity with the addition of ionic liquid is expected. This work is meant to investigate the changes occurring in the films with the addition of ionic liquid, especially from the standpoint of surface mechanical properties such as tribological behavior and interfacial properties. The results show that the addition of the ionic liquid led to change in the structure of the film, resulting in an improvement in the mechanical properties, as observed by reduced friction coefficient. An increase of abraded area of counterface and an increase of elastic work also indicates that behavior.Novelty statementThe aim of this study was to obtain carbon films by electrodeposition using 2-HydroxyEthylAmine Lactate doped N,N DiMethylFormamide as electrolyte, in order to increase deposition rate. It will be the first report about the use of ionic liquids as dopants in the electrodeposition of carbon films.In addition, mechanical properties of the obtained films were evaluated and their relationship with the amounts of dopant was explored.

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