Mechanism on heterogeneous transfer film formed by diamond-like carbon film under molybdenum disulfide hybrid polyethylene glycol lubrication

Heterogeneous materials are an ideal platform for low friction, but most of the heterogeneous materials used in tribology field are artificially synthesized. Here, by matching the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) hybrid polyethylene glycol (PEG 200) and diamond-like carbon (DLC) film, the spontaneous formation of heterogeneous transfer film was realized during sliding. Thus, the anti-friction/wear ability of the synergetic system is improved from the reduction of friction coefficient and wear rate by 33.3% and 32.1% contrast to DLC film, severally. The characterization results show that the heterogeneous transfer film is formed by the rehybridization and recrystallization of MoS2 and DLC combined with amorphous phase. The improvement on shearing capacity and bearing capacity of as-designed lubrication strategy better explicates the solid-liquid synergistic effect. The formation theory of heterojunction in solid-liquid composite lubrication is put forward, which has important reference value for the future solid-liquid composite lubrication technology.