The nanotribological studies are needed to develop fundamental understanding of interfacial phenomena on a smaller scale in nanostructures used in magnetic storage systems and other industrial applications. In several fields of technical application, e.g., in the automotive or aircraft industries, the reduction of friction and wear is a very important aspect with respect to longer lifetimes, increased service intervals and lower operation costs of tools, machines and other devices or mechanically loaded elements. Many researchers have studied tribological properties of various binary thin film materials to investigate various properties like adhesion, hardness and friction coefficients according to the respective applications. The different deposition techniques they used are Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering. Ion Beam Assisted Deposition, Physical Vapour Deposition etc. Recently ternary nitride based coatings are invesitgated as they exhibit improved tribological, mechanical and thermal properties compared to binary nitride based coatings. This review paper is aimed to summarize tribological properties of three ternary nitride based coatings such as Titanium Aluminium Nitride, Titanium Vanadium Nitride and Titanium Molybdenum Nitride

Nano-structured zinc oxide thin films were deposited on corning glass substrate by magnetron sputtering process. Zinc oxide films were deposited at different gas ratio values of argon:oxygen kept at 2sccm:18sccm, 6sccm:14sccm, 10sccm:10sccm and 14sccm:6sccm. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) technique was used to characterize ZnO thin films. The XRD graphs indicate presence of (100) and (002) peaks for ZnO thin films. Contact angle and surface energy of nano-structured ZnO thin films were determined by contact angle goniometer. Zinc oxide films are hydrophobic by nature and their contact angle value varies from 98.3° to 102.1° with decrease in flow rate of oxygen gas and increase in argon gas flow rate. UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer was used to characterize optical properties of ZnO thin films

The aim of this paper is to deposit zirconium oxide films by magnetron sputtering process at different argon partial pressure values of 45%, 55%, 62% and 67%. The effect of argon partial pressure on structural, optical and wettability properties of zirconium oxide films is investigated in this research work. The increase in argon partial pressure leads to increase in intensity of (111) peak for zirconium oxide thin films as observed by X-ray Diffraction. The average crystallite size of zirconium oxide films increases from 19nm to 25nm with increase in argon partial pressure. Wettability properties of zirconium oxide films such as contact angle and surface energy were determined by contact angle measuring system. The minimum transmission values above 63% were observed for all zirconium oxide thin films deposited at different argon partial pressure. Band gap and refractive index of zirconium oxide thin films varies as a function of argon partial pressure

This manuscript presents an experimental investigation of the friction and wear properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites reinforced with functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of MWCNTs as a reinforcement material for enhancing the tribological performance of PMMA. Three types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, i.e., pristine, hydroxyl functionalized, and carboxyl functionalized, were utilized in this study. The nanocomposite samples were prepared by dispersing varying concentrations of MWCNTs (0.1 wt.%, 0.5 wt.%, and 1 wt.%) within the PMMA matrix via a 3D mixing approach, followed by injection molding/compression molding. The resulting nanocomposite films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the dispersion of MWCNTs within the PMMA matrix. The friction and wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disk tribometer under dry sliding conditions. The effects of functionalization and MWCNT content on the tribological behaviors of the nanocomposites were analyzed. The nanocomposites exhibited lower friction coefficients and reduced wear rates compared to pure PMMA. The lowest friction coefficient and wear rate were achieved at an optimum MWCNT loading of 0.5 wt.%. It was further revealed that the amount of MWCNT reinforcement, average load, and track diameter significantly affect the coefficient of friction (COF) and rate of wear. The COF and wear rate are best at a filler loading of 0.5 wt.%, a 20 Kg load, and 90 mm. The improved tribological performance of the MWCNT-reinforced PMMA nanocomposites can be attributed to the effective transfer of load between the MWCNTs and the PMMA matrix, as well as the reinforcement effect of the MWCNTs. The MWCNTs acted as reinforcing agents, enhancing the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the nanocomposites.

The aim of this paper is to study tribological properties of titanium nitride (TiN) coating deposited on various substrates by DC magnetron sputtering technique. The DC power of metallic titanium target was varied from 200 to 350W at an increment of 50W. The effect of power variation on structure and surface morphology was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The tribological properties of coating were investigated using pin on disk apparatus. TiN coating exhibited a higher wear resistance and low coefficient of friction compared to uncoated substrates of mild steel, aluminum and brass