The tribological performance of fullerene-like hydrogenated carbon films under ionic liquid lubrication

Fullerene‐like hydrogenated carbon films were deposited on Si substrate by plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The microstructures of films were characterized by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectrum. The tribological performance of films was tested by reciprocating ball‐on‐disc tester under 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid. The surface morphology and chemical composition of wear tracks and wear rates were investigated by optical microscope, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and 3D surface profiler. The results indicated that the film with a typical fullerene‐like structure embedded into the amorphous sp2 and sp3 carbon networks could be prepared successfully, and the film shows a higher hardness (26.7 GPa) and elastic recovery (89.9%) compared with the amorphous carbon film. Furthermore, the film shows a lower friction coefficient at low contact load and friction frequency, and excellent wear‐resistance performance at high load and frequency under ionic liquid lubrication. Meanwhile, the wear life of fullerene‐like hydrogenated carbon films could be improved significantly using ionic liquid as a lubrication material. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.