Effects of contact pressure, counter-surface and humidity on wear of soda-lime-silica glass at nanoscale

The nanoscale friction and wear behaviors of soda-lime-silica (SLS) glass were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with diamond (inert) and silica (reactive) tips in dry and humid environments. Depending on the contact pressure, counter-surface chemistry, and humidity, three distinct wear regimes were identified: mechanical wear, stress corrosion, and tribochemical wear. The mechanisms of material removal at these three wear regimes were proposed. These results provided insights into mechanical and mechanochemical wear mechanisms of the SLS glass at nanoscale, which will be useful to optimize tribological designs of functional and engineering glasses.