Abstract
In this study, we address the superlubricity behavior of sapphire against ruby (or sapphire against itself) under phosphoric acid solution lubrication. An ultra-low friction coefficient of 0.004 was obtained under a very high contact pressure, with a virgin contact pressure up to 2.57 GPa. Related experiments have indicated that the load, sliding speed, and humidity of the test environment can affect superlubricity to some degree, so we tested variations in these conditions. When superlubricity appears in this study a thin film is present, consisting of a hydrogen bond network of phosphoric acid and water molecules adsorbed on the two friction surfaces, which accounts for the ultra-low friction. Most significantly, the wear rate of the sapphire and ruby in the friction process is very slow and the superlubricity state is very stable, providing favorable conditions for future technological applications.
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Jianbin LUO. He received his BEng degree from Northeastern University in 1982, and got his MEng degree from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology in 1988. In 1994, he received his PhD degree from Tsinghua University and then joined the faculty of Tsinghua University. Prof. Jianbin Luo is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Yangtze River Scholar Distinguished Professor of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He was awarded the STLE International Award (2013), the Chinese National Technology Progress Prize (2008), the Chinese National Natural Science Prize (2001), and the Chinese National Invention Prize (1996). Prof. Luo has been engaged in the research of thin film lubrication and tribology in nanomanufacturing. He was invited as a keynote or plenary speaker for 20 times on the international conferences.
Jinjin LI. He received the BS degree in mechanical engineering from University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China, in 2009, and the PhD degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 2014. Dr. Li is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He has published 8 papers indexed by SCI as the first author. His major research areas include superlubricity, wear and lubrication.
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Li, J., Zhang, C., Deng, M. et al. Investigations of the superlubricity of sapphire against ruby under phosphoric acid lubrication. Friction 2, 164–172 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-014-0050-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-014-0050-6