Abstract
In this work, tribological characteristics of thin films composed of entangled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were investigated. The surface roughness of CNT thin films fabricated via a dip-coating process was controlled by squeezing during the process with an applied normal force ranging from 0 to 5 kgf. Raman spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the thin films were obtained to estimate the influence of the squeezing process on the crystallinity of the CNTs. The analysis revealed that squeezing could reduce surface roughness, while preserving the crystallinity of the CNTs. Moreover, the surface energy of the cover glass used to press the CNT thin film was found to be the critical factor controlling surface roughness. A micro-tribometer and macro-tribometer were used to assess the tribological characteristics of the CNT thin film. The results of the tribotest exhibited a correlation between the friction coefficient and surface roughness. Dramatic changes in friction coefficient could be observed in the micro-tribotest, while changes in friction coefficient in the macro-tribotest were not significant.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2015R1C1A1A01053416).
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Youn-Hoo HWANG. He received his bachelor degree in Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering in 2017 from Kyungpook National University, Sangju, Republic of Korea. Currently, he is M.S. candidate at Kyungpook National University. His research interests include tribological characteristics of nanomaterial and wear reduction mechanism.
Byung-Soo MYUNG. He received his M.S. and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, in 1986 and 1993 respectively. He is currently chair of Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University. His research interests are reduction of friction through vibration and contact characteristics during vibration.
Hyun-Joon KIM. He received bachelor and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, in 2005 and 2012, respectively. He joined Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering at Kyungpook National University as assistant professor from 2014. His current interests are AFM based nano-mechanics, micro-nano tribology, and molecular dynamics simulation.
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Hwang, YH., Myung, BS. & Kim, HJ. Study on frictional behavior of carbon nanotube thin films with respect to surface condition. Friction 6, 432–442 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-017-0182-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-017-0182-6