Friction and wear properties of aligned film of amorphous carbon nanorods on anodic aluminum oxide template in vacuum

The aligned film of amorphous carbon (a-C) nanorods was prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) on an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template at 650 °C. The morphology and microstructure of aligned film of amorphous carbon nanorods were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The friction and wear properties of aligned film of amorphous carbon nanorods on the AAO template in vacuum (1.12×10−1 Pa) were investigated using a ball-on-disk wear tester with aligned film specimen serving as the disk. The ball specimens with 3 mm in diameter were fabricated from a quenched- and -tempered steel. The tests were conducted at loads range from 245 to 1960 mN and at sliding velocities between 0.1 and 0.5 m s−1. Under the vacuum condition, the weight loss of aligned film of amorphous carbon nanorods increased with increasing the applied load, while the friction coefficient decreased gradually as the applied load increased. The aligned film of amorphous carbon nanorods presented good friction stability and low friction, and the values of friction coefficient varied from 0.23 to 0.31 in vacuum. At the same load and sliding velocity, the friction coefficient in vacuum was slightly higher than dry sliding in air.