Fullerene-like nanostructure induced excellent friction behavior in high vacuum environment for hydrogenated carbon film

Hydrogenated carbon film (a-C:H film) with fullerene-like nanostructure has been prepared successfully by magnetron sputtering technology. Here, we investigated the film morphology, mechanical properties as well as tribological behavior in high vacuum environment. The results show that the fabricated fullerene-like hydrogenated carbon (FL-C:H) film exhibits high hardness and elasticity. Importantly, the wear life of FL-C:H film is markedly prolonged to more than 36000 cycles under a high applied load of 5 N in high vacuum environment. The outstanding tribological performance in vacuum environment can be attributed to the presence of unique fullerene-like nanostructure and friction-induced promotion of onion-like nanostructure during friction process.