Tribological properties of pulsed laser deposited Mo–S–Te composite films at moderate high temperatures

Tribological investigations of Mo–S–Te composite films were conducted on films grown at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition. The chemistry and microstructure of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, and micro Raman spectroscopy. The films showed a granular morphology and a preferred basal plane growth of 2H-MoS2 parallel to the substrate after annealing at high temperatures. The friction coefficients of the films were 0.05 at 300 °C and 0.10 at 450 °C for more than 10,000 cycles in air. Smeared hexagonal MoS2 lubricant films were observed inside wear tracks while the tribochemical formation of wear debris occurred both inside and outside the wear tracks. The Te additives for increasing the film durability were proposed to slow oxidation of the lubricants at elevated temperatures by thermally-induced tellurium migration to the surface and the subsequent formation of the Te diffusion barrier. This mechanism could be significantly effective in high-temperature tribotests because of the increased tellurium mobility at high temperatures.