Research Progress of Interface Conditions and Tribological Reactions: A Review

Abstract Tribology plays a crucial role in progress of industry and engineering. The dependence of interface conditions and interfacial reactions provides the strategies for friction reduction as well as anti-wear in industrial processes. That is to modify the surface structure of materials or tune the properties of lubricants. This review provides an overview on the important interface conditions and surface-induced tribological reactions with emphasis on the underlying of their formation and action mechanism. The tribological features of asperity, debris and surface texture are firstly dictated. Then the main surface-induced physicochemical reactions including wetting/dewetting, deposition/adsorption are discussed. In particular, the thermal, mechanical and electrical effects that trigger tribochemical reactions are also addressed. Finally, some deficiencies in related investigations are summarized, with perspectives for the development of tribology in both science research and industrial application.