Ion Beam Processed Fullerene Coatings for Tribological Applications

The discovery of a totally new form of carbon, CE60, known as fullerene, has sparked tremendous interest for various applications including that as a solid lubricant. Within the soccer ball shaped fullerene molecule, the bonding between carbon atoms are very strong, and the molecule has considerable structural stability. The intermolecular bonding is weak and is due to van der Waals attraction. Based on this background information, it is easy to imagine that these loosely bonded balls can roll and slip when placed between two sliding surfaces thus providing solid lubrication. UES Inc, proposed to develop thin coatings of these materials using physical vapor deposition and bond the coating with a surface using very high energy (~MeV) ion beams. The evaluation of physical and tribological properties of these coatings will determine their future applications as a solid lubricant.