Tribology of Carbon Coatings, Solid Lubricants, and Composite Materials
This research community develops surface coatings, lubricant additives, and composite materials specifically designed to reduce friction and resist wear in mechanical systems.
The work centers on the engineering of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films, amorphous carbon coatings, and solid lubricants such as molybdenum disulfide and hexagonal boron nitride. A significant portion of the research focuses on modifying these materials through the addition of graphene oxide, ionic liquids, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to enhance their performance. These materials are applied to substrates like stainless steel and titanium, often using deposition techniques such as magnetron sputtering. The community extensively utilizes molecular dynamics simulations to model the atomic interactions that govern friction and wear behavior, alongside experimental testing of these coatings and lubricant additives under various mechanical and environmental conditions.
The largest share of the community's output is found in carbon research, accounting for 1.2% of all carbon research tracked, and 9,671 papers within this group. Molybdenum research also features prominently, with 2,508 papers representing 2.0% of all molybdenum research.
The community comprises 21,058 papers, publishing most frequently in Diamond and Related Materials, Tribology International, and Wear.
Recent work continues to focus on the fundamental mechanisms of friction and wear, including studies on cryogenic wear resistance of molybdenum disulfide, the role of hydrogen content in diamond-like carbon films, and the development of water-based ionic liquid lubricants.