Tribological properties of Mo-S-C coating deposited by pulsed d.c. magnetron sputtering

Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 are widely used as solid lubricants for vacuum applications. On the other hand, diamond-like carbon coatings exhibit excellent sliding properties in the ambient environment. Our Mo-S-C coatings deposited by pulsed d.c. sputtering combine both structures to obtain stable properties regardless of the testing conditions. The coatings were studied using HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy, revealing amorphous nature of the coating. The tribological properties were evaluated by pin-on-disc method. The results showed high lubrication ability in all the testing conditions. HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy were employed to show the structural characteristics of the wear traces. Our results indicate that the low-friction effect should be attributed to carbon structure re-arrangement since expected wear-induced MoS2 formation was not observed.