An investigation of molybdenum disulfide bonded solid lubricant coatings in fretting conditions

Fretting wear tests with a large range of displacement amplitudes have been carried out using molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) bonded solid lubricant coatings. Dynamic analyses in combination with microscopic examinations through SEM, EDX and XPS have been performed. Experimental results showed that such MoS2 coatings influenced greatly the fretting regimes and reduced the coefficient of friction. Further studies on comparisons between MoS2 bonded solid lubricant and magnetron-sputtered MoS2 coatings have been made in fretting conditions. MoS2 bonded solid lubricant, as one of the simple and cheap modification techniques is also considered as an effective palliative for fretting.