Friction and Wear Behavior of Silicon Carbonitride Processed From the Polymer-Derived Ceramic Route | CU Experts

Polymer derived ceramics (PDC’s) are processed from liquid organometallic precursors by cross-linking the polymers into infusible solids, followed by controlled pyrolysis. No previous work regarding their tribology has been reported. Further, the synthesis of PDC’s as thin films, and the role that the nanostructure plays on the mechanical properties has not been reported. The objective of this research was to evaluate the fundamental tribological behavior of polymer derived SiCN in both bulk and thin film form. Friction and wear evaluations were made on bulk materials and thin films using a Si3N4 ballon-disk linear wear tester at various contact pressures and in different environments that contained various amounts of humidity. The micro/nanostructure was characterized by FTIR, microRaman, and scanning electron microscopy. Bulk SiCN gave a low friction coefficient and good wear resistance in humid environments but showed significant fracture and gouging in dry environments at higher contact pressures. Although there is ambiguity regarding the tribology of the thin films there seems to be a dependence upon the nitrogen content within the materials derived from the polymeric stage. The future work will focus on optimizing processing conditions of thin films and investigating the role that nitrogen plays in both bulk and thin film SiCN materials.

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